Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials indicated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were set up in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned sending troops to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
