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 federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from the city, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including homicides.
That day, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on that day banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is attempting to "justify and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed sending military units to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through August, per police data.
New survey data released on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
