Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions 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 state military forces readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would avoid police functions but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to send active duty military in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates 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, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.
