Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt 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. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military personnel readying for deployment, according to sources. Officials indicated the troops would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has stated he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or mentioned sending troops to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per police data.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
