Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration 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 Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are failing to put down an uprising or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned sending military units to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, per police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.
