Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Authorities indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has stated he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to put down an uprising or are defying federal law.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or mentioned sending troops to over ten cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
