Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, despite strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced 31% to 278 through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
