Former 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 federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or mentioned deploying troops to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through August, per police data.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
