Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives 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 a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including homicides.
That day, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, according to reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused the president of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
