Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, two hundred state guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has sent or discussed sending troops to at least 10 cities, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through August, per police data.
New survey data published on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
