Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with 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 Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including murders.
That day, 200 state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or discussed sending military units to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in the past few years. In the city, for example, murders were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, per police data.
New survey data released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.
