Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek 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 wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for example, homicides were down nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, per police data.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
