Federal authorities plan to surge agents to Chicago starting next week to scale up operations to arrest unauthrorized immigrants, two federal law enforcement officials told NBC News on Thursday.
The plans involve Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol and other federal agencies, the officials said.
In Chicago, a Democrat-run city, there are policies in place that keep local police from asking about immigration status, which is a federal matter. The city does not partner with ICE and says that doing so would harm efforts by local police to fight crime by making people afraid to contact or cooperate with officers.
The city’s decision to not cooperate with ICE has drawn the ire of the Trump administration and “border czar” Tom Homan.
President Donald Trump, who frequently criticizes Chicago, has recently suggested that he would deploy the National Guard to the city — something criticized by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who said “Mr. President, do not come to Chicago.”
“You’re neither wanted here, nor needed here,” Pritzker said this week. He has also said that Trump is “attempting to manufacture a crisis.”
As part of the plan, the Border Patrol will operate from a naval base outside the city as a staging area, the officials said.
It was unclear how long the scaled-up operations in Chicago will continue or whether the National Guard will also be used.
The Department of Homeland Security did not deny or confirm the plans after inquiries from NBC News on Thursday but said that “President Trump has been clear: We are going to make our streets and cities safe again.”
Pritzker on Thursday said that the Trump administration has not contacted him or his state administration about any plans.
“They’re just looking to invade the city of Chicago, not coordinate with law enforcement — who they ought to be coordinating with —not coordinating with the state of Illinois, the governor or the mayor of the city,” the governor said.
The White House has launched a nationwide immigration crackdown that Trump promised during his presidential campaign, which included events where supporters held “deport them all” signs.
In June, a large-scale immigration operation targeting Los Angeles sparked protests, and there was violence and looting that later prompted Mayor Karen Bass to impose a curfew downtown. Like Chicago, Los Angeles is a Democrat-run city with policies that keep police from conducting federal immigration enforcement.
The Trump administration sent the National Guard to Los Angeles, citing the protests and protection of federal buildings and officials as justification.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the deployment of the National Guard illegal and “political theater.” Other California officials, including Bass, have called the move a politically motivated stunt intended to terrorize residents of the city, and said the National Guard was not needed.
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