Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, two hundred state guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying federal law.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or mentioned sending troops to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
