Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Authorities indicated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed sending troops to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through August, per police data.
New survey data released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.
