Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including murders.
That day, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would avoid police functions but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to over ten cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per police data.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
