Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
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 hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 state military personnel readying for deployment, according to sources. Officials indicated the troops would avoid police functions but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged 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.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or discussed sending troops to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
