Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a president to send regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or mentioned sending troops to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through August, per police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
