Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials indicated the troops would avoid police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or discussed deploying troops to over ten urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
