Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has said he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops 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 essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.
