Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a president to send active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or mentioned deploying military units to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, according to police data.
A recent poll released on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
