A new immigration crackdown is underway in Chicago. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says Operation Midway Blitz will “target criminal illegal aliens terrorizing Americans in sanctuary Illinois.”
In a statement on Monday, ICE accused Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and other local politicians of releasing “Tren de Aragua gang members, rapists, kidnappers and drug traffickers on Chicago’s streets.” It said these moves put Americans at risk and made Chicago a “magnet for criminals.”
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Now, ICE said it will work to target the “worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in Chicago.”
“President Trump and Secretary Noem have a clear message: no city is a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens. If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will hunt you down, arrest you, deport you, and you will never return.”
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Dedicating ‘Operation Midway Blitz’
ICE said the operation is in honor of Katie Abraham. She was killed earlier this year in a drunk-driving hit-and-run about 130 miles south of Chicago. Officials caught the driver, a Guatemalan citizen in the U.S. illegally, in Texas days later, trying to flee to Mexico.
ICE stated the suspect should have “never been in our country.” He’s currently in custody in Illinois.
Lack of communication
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said he received no notice that immigration officials would be coming into the city.
In a post on X, he said, “We remain opposed to any potential militarized immigration enforcement without due process because of ICE’s track record of detaining and deporting American citizens and violating the human rights of hundreds of detainees.”
Pritzker expressed something similar, saying, the Trump administration has not coordinated with the city or state.
“Once again, this isn’t about fighting crime. That requires support and coordination — yet we’ve experienced nothing like that over the past several weeks,” Pritzker wrote on X.
Operation Midway Blitz timeline
It’s unclear how long the blitz will last, but ICE insists it has always operated in Chicago.
An ICE spokesperson shared a statement with CBS this week. It said, “We will continue our law enforcement and public safety mission, undeterred, as we surge ICE resources in the city.”
‘Chipocalypse Now’
The ICE deployment in Chicago comes just days after Trump shared an ominous post targeting Chicago over the weekend.
On Saturday, the president posted an image of the Chicago skyline with helicopters, flames and the words “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the department of war.”
Trump captioned the post “Chipocalypse now,” a play on the classic 1979 war movie “Apocalypse Now.”
