Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, 200 state guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed sending military units to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
