Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard 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 an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to send active duty military in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through August, per police data.
New survey data released on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
