Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted 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 National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, despite strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from the city, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, according to sources. Authorities indicated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
New survey data released on that day found that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
