The Department of Homeland Security launched an immigration enforcement initiative targeting Chicago on Monday: Operation Midway Blitz.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the operation “will target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in Chicago.” It’s been coming for a while. Rhetoric between Gov. JB Pritzker and President Donald Trump has been escalating for weeks. Protests over the weekend took over parts of downtown Chicago in anticipation of the expected Immigration and Customs Enforcement action.
The ICE operation is expected to bring in hundreds of agents and more than 100 vehicles, according to Pritzker. “ICE is somewhere on the ground here. They already have been effectuating their plans. We have not seen the bulk of those ICE agents yet in communities, but we have seen some,” Pritzker said Tuesday.
Despite an image posted by the president’s Truth Social account saying “Chiago about to find out why it’s called the Department of War.” That post was widely criticized by Democratic leaders in Illinois, including Pritzker, who said Trump had not yet reached out to him about a potential National Guard deployment. Pritzker has also refused to call Trump about it, citing concern it could be used a legal pretense for military deployment.
