Donald Trump is planning to make good on his promises of mass deportation immediately.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Trump’s team is working with federal immigration authorities to orchestrate a large-scale immigration raid in Chicago on Tuesday, the president-elect’s first full day in office.
The Journal shared that up to 200 officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be sent to the city to carry out the days-long operation. Their reporting shows that the raids plan to focus on undocumented immigrants who have committed minor offenses, such as driving violations. They also intend to arrest anyone who is around these petty offenders who happens to be in the country illegally.
Chicago was reportedly chosen as a target both because of its status as a sanctuary city — meaning a city that limits cooperation between local law enforcement and immigration authorities — and personal animosity between Trump and the city’s mayor, Brandon Johnson.
Trump border adviser Tom Homan promised late last year to start his mass deportation program “right here in Chicago” and threatened prosecution for Johnson if he attempts to intervene.
His hard-line stance has remained consistent since Trump’s win in November. That same month, Homan urged mayors of sanctuary cities to “get the hell out of the way.”
“This is going to happen with or without you,” he said during an appearance on Newsmax.
The Chicago Police Department has taken a neutral stance on the potential raids, noting it doesn’t document the residents’ immigration status or share information with ICE. However, they promised not to stand in the way of any potential immigration enforcement action.
“We will not intervene or interfere with any other government agencies performing their duties,” they shared in a statement to the Journal.
The reported raid comes as the Senate is considering the Laken Riley Act, a bill that would mandate federal detention of undocumented immigrants who are accused of crimes. Earlier this week, Kristi Noem shared that Trump’s imagined mass deportations would set the tone for border policy in the coming administration.
“Well, the president will be in charge of the border. It’s a national security issue and the president is in charge of this,” Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Homeland Security. said during her Senate confirmation hearing.
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