Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to send regular army in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or mentioned sending troops to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an external threat.
