Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration advances with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities indicated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on Monday banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel 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 allows a president to send active duty military in regions that are failing to put down an uprising or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or discussed deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
