Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
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 such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses across the US has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through August, according to police data.
New survey data published on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.
