Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in recent years. In the city, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
