ICE agents have been stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes, a military base outside Chicago.
WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched a new immigration enforcement operation in Chicago on Sept. 8.
“DHS is launching Operation Midway Blitz in honor of Katie Abraham who was killed in a drunk driving hit-and-run car wreck caused by criminal illegal alien Julio Cucul-Bol in Illinois,” DHS wrote on X.
DHS criticized Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker for lax immigration enforcement.
“This ICE operation will target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they knew Governor Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets,” the agency said.
In a post on X, Pritzker said the announcement “isn’t about fighting crime.”
“That requires support and coordination—yet we’ve experienced nothing like that over the past several weeks. Instead of taking steps to work with us on public safety, the Trump Administration’s focused on scaring Illinoisians,” he said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes, a military base outside Chicago.
“[This is for] limited support in the form of facilities, infrastructure, and other logistical needs to support DHS operations,” Matt Mogle, a spokesperson for the base, which is 35 miles north of the Windy City, said on Aug. 27.
White House Border Czar Tom Homan told reporters on Aug. 28 that ICE operations could increase in Chicago.
“Operations are ramped up across the country, but you could see it ramp up around places like Chicago, absolutely,” he said.
Operation Midway Blitz comes as President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned he would send the National Guard to Chicago to fight crime.
“When you look at Chicago, we have a governor that says that things are okay with crime. Except that last weekend, 11 people were killed and 68 people were wounded by gunshot,“ Trump said on Sept. 5. ”The week before, five people were killed, 28 people were wounded. The week before, six people were killed, 19 people were badly wounded.
“Many of the wounded are going to die. And he said, ‘Oh, well, we have a safe city.’ These people are sick. There’s something wrong with them, but we’re going to make some other choices pretty soon.”
He has walked back his threat of unilaterally sending the National Guard to the Windy City.
“We’re not going to war. We’re going to clean up our cities,” Trump told reporters on Sept. 7 at the White House. “We’re going to clean them up so they don’t kill five people every weekend. That’s not war, that’s common sense.”
Pritzker has pushed back on Trump’s threat, telling the National Guard not to come to Chicago.
“I refuse to fall into the pundit trap that demands we sacrifice vital Constitutional rights if it’s being done in the fake guise of fighting crime,” he said.
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