Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions 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 marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending troops to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down 31% to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day found that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
