Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to send active duty military in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or discussed sending troops to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has decreased in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
