Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded 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 endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military personnel readying for deployment, according to sources. Authorities indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were set up in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his new administration, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to over ten urban centers, including 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 protect ICE officers.
Data shows that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced 31% to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
