Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment 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 endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, despite strong objections from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas 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, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are failing to put down an uprising or are defying federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.
