Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including murders.
That day, 200 state guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones 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 demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or discussed sending troops to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were down 31% to 278 through August, per police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
