Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, according to reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a president to send regular army in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying troops to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has decreased in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, according to police data.
New survey data released on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.
