Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including murders.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military forces readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are failing to put down an uprising or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
