Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking protests, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send active duty military in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, 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 fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day found that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
