Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that Trump is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or discussed sending military units to at least 10 cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
