Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
