Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding 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 wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities 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 initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 cities, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
New survey data published on Wednesday revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
