Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from the city, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day 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 "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying troops to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data published on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
