Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics 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 another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or discussed sending troops to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
