Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military forces readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities indicated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused the president of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or discussed deploying troops to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
A recent poll released on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.
