Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying military units to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data released on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
