Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per reports. Officials indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking protests, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a president to send active duty military in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.
