Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, despite strong objections from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an executive order on Monday banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or discussed sending troops to at least 10 cities, such as 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 protect immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
