Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, 200 state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, per reports. Officials indicated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, triggering demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned sending military units to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
