Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, military units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 state military forces readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that Trump is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a president to send regular army in states that are failing to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or discussed deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on that day found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
