Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of state military troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including 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 Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration advances with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials indicated the troops would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also signed an directive on that day prohibiting ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed sending military units to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
