Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that Trump 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, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a president to dispatch regular army in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has sent or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
