Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. 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 escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also signed an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying troops to over ten cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
