Former 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 failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 state military personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are failing to put down an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 cities, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced 31% to 278 through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll released on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.
