Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which allows a president to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying military units to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for example, murders were down 31% to 278 through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
