Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents 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."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration advances with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to send regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or mentioned sending troops to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through August, per police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
