Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has sent or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in recent years. In the city, for instance, homicides were down 31% to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
