Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials including 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."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
