Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents 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 back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed sending military units to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
