Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, 200 state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has sent or mentioned deploying military units to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
