Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite strong objections from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day prohibiting ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to over ten urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In the city, for example, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
