Ex-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 endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military personnel readying for deployment, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, sparking protests, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
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 "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or discussed deploying troops to over ten urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, according to police data.
New survey data released on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
