On day two of his presidency, President-elect Donald Trump plans to ignite a massive immigration raid in Chicago, sending a strong message that his administration will take a hardline stance on illegal immigration. The mass deportation raid is part of Trump’s broader plan to enforce immigration laws aggressively and send those who entered the United States illegally back to their home countries. With growing concerns over border security and the impact of unchecked immigration on local communities, the move will be seen as a fulfillment of Trump’s promise to prioritize American citizens and uphold the rule of law.
On Tuesday, one day after Trump was inaugurated, the president’s Border Czar, Tom Homan, said he would carry out its first large-scale deportation operation in the Windy City. This will be part of a multi-city “ground operation” aimed at targeting sanctuary cities that have allowed illegal aliens to take advantage of American resources.
According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will send between 100 and 200 officers to carry out the operation.
Donald Trump ran for president on a bold promise: to carry out the largest mass deportation in U.S. history. The incoming Trump team intends to target immigrants in the country illegally with criminal backgrounds—many of whose offenses, like driving violations, made them too minor for the Biden administration to pursue. But, the people cautioned, if anyone else in the country illegally is present during an arrest, they will be taken too. The transition team had been contemplating cities to target in a day-one operation as a way of making an example of so-called sanctuary cities, which adopt policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities. They settled on Chicago both because of the large number of immigrants who could be possible targets, and because of the Trump team’s high-profile feud with the city’s Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson.
A source told the outlet that ICE offices have already halted routine arrests to free up space in detention centers for those targeted in the upcoming raids.
“We aren’t arresting anyone and bringing them into custody, making room for what may happen next week,” the source said.
Homan appears to be making good on his promises.
In December, Homan told a crowd during an event in Chicago that the operation would begin in the Windy City because it is “in trouble because your mayor sucks and your governor sucks.”
“Chicago is just one of many places. We’ve got 24 [ICE] field offices across the country. On Tuesday, ICE is finally going to go out and do their job. We’re going to take the handcuffs off ICE and let them go arrest criminal aliens. That’s what’s going to happen,” Homan said during a Fox News interview Friday.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member