Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities indicated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
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 personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has dispatched or mentioned sending troops to at least 10 urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
