Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois 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 social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government advances with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled 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 scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to put down an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or discussed deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per police data.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
