Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek 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 endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would avoid police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or discussed sending troops to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down 31% to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
