Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for 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 endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or discussed sending military units to over ten urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, per police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.
