Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, military troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or discussed sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in the past few years. In the city, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
