Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on Monday banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or discussed deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
