Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
That day, 200 state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an executive order on that day banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Statistics shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down 31% to 278 through late summer, per police data.
New survey data published on that day found that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
