Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities indicated the troops would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying federal law.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.
