Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned sending military units to at least 10 cities, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through August, according to police data.
New survey data released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
