Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to send regular army in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or mentioned 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, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
