Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying 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 military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in the past few years. In the city, for example, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
