Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, despite strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including homicides.
That day, 200 state guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to send active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed sending troops to over ten cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
