Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
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 advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through August, per police data.
New survey data published on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
