Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of state military personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed sending military units to at least 10 cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data released on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
