Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per reports. Officials indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were down 31% to 278 through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.
