Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
That day, 200 state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national 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 arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that Trump is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has sent or mentioned deploying troops to at least 10 cities, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
