Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
