Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has sent or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 cities, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data released on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
