Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Officials indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or discussed deploying military units to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
