Ex-President Donald J. 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 belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 through August, according to police data.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.
