Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is 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 Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending troops to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were down 31% to 278 through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an external threat.
