Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials indicated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send regular army in regions that are failing to put down an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through August, according to police data.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
