Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send active duty military in regions that are failing to put down an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or discussed deploying military units to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
