Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the troops would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that the president is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or discussed sending troops to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.
