Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. 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, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property 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, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in states that are failing to put down an uprising or are defying federal law.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or mentioned sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Data indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in recent years. In the city, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
