Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or discussed sending military units to at least 10 cities, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through August, per police data.
A recent poll released on that day found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.
