Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned sending military units 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 military presence is necessary to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
