Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities indicated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, triggering demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data released on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
