Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "justify and normalize the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed deploying troops to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has declined in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were down 31% to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
