Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections 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'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or mentioned sending troops to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were reduced 31% to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
