Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
That day, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has stated he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send regular army in states that are failing to put down an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has sent or discussed deploying troops to over ten cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
