Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, despite strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including homicides.
That day, 200 state guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities indicated the troops would avoid police functions but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge 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 lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a president to send regular army in regions that are failing to put down an uprising or are defying federal law.
After beginning his new administration, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
