Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, triggering protests, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or discussed sending military units to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced 31% to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
