Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, according to reports. Officials indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Data indicates that serious offenses nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.
