Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as 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 anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration advances with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military forces readying for deployment, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a president 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 dispatched or mentioned sending troops to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
