Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials indicated the troops would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also signed an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying 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 essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for instance, homicides were down 31% to 278 through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
