Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which allows a president to send active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
