Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying 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 West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down 31% to 278 through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
