Washington — On Sunday, the Justice Department revealed that it started a joint immigration enforcement operation in Chicago. This action is part of the Trump administration’s effort to quickly deliver on its campaign promise to increase arrests and deportations.
Officials announced that several law enforcement agencies will carry out these actions in the next few days. The Justice Department said that Emil Bove, the acting deputy attorney general, went to Chicago to manage a situation he described as a “national emergency.”
The Trump administration has asked different law enforcement agencies in the Justice Department, including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service, to help with operations in Chicago and other locations.
It was unknown on Sunday how many arrests were made in Chicago and other places. Local officials in Chicago said they were not part of the activities. In some areas, residents expressed worry and confusion about what the reported immigration operations would involve.
Bove said in a statement that he saw agents from the Justice and Homeland Security offices working together to handle a national crisis caused by four years of ineffective immigration policy. He said the Justice Department was trying to “secure the border, stop this invasion, and make America safe again.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that federal agencies have begun focused efforts in Chicago to enforce immigration laws and protect public safety by keeping dangerous criminals out of local areas.
Bove asked local leaders to help and said there might be consequences for those who don’t.
“We will help everyone at the federal, state, and local levels who joins this important effort to improve our communities,” he said. “We will use all our resources to overcome obstacles and illegal challenges to keep our country safe.”
Illinois On Sunday, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker told CNN that his state would help federal officials deport immigrants who have committed crimes or have deportation orders. He highlighted that state law enforcement will not conduct targeted raids or profile people in the state who may not have legal standing.
Pritzker stated that there is no new legal reason for the letter Bove released last week, which says the department might look into and take action against officials in areas that do not help with deportation efforts. “He’s saying they are sharing that information to scare everyone.”
Officials in the governor’s office said Pritzker’s office was not informed ahead of time about the arrests. A representative from the Chicago Police Department said on Sunday that the department does not keep track of people’s immigration status or share this information with federal immigration officials, as required by city regulations.
Officials in Chicago revealed that the FBI and DEA field offices helped with the operation.
In the Logan Square neighborhood on the northwest side of the city, residents looked worried as news stories about federal operations came out. Georgia Hampton, a 31-year-old radio producer, spoke while sitting in New Wave Coffee on Sunday. Hampton said, “It seems like everyone is just waiting to share some news.” “Everyone is holding their breath.”
In Little Village, on the southwest side, Juan Sanchez, a 35-year-old plumber from Chicago, noticed that the streets were very quiet. Even people with legal standing looked tense, he said.
“Even for people like us who are citizens or have green cards, there is fear,” he said. “I’m scared too—not because I’ll be deported since I was born here, but because I might get caught up in a mass arrest.”
Immigration enforcement is a regular part of the Homeland Security Department, which manages departments like ICE. The Trump administration has promised to assign more Justice Department staff to these attempts and take stronger action.
Last week, several immigration support groups in Illinois sued ICE to try to stop the agency from doing some immigration actions in Chicago. The case claimed that the Trump administration was limiting free speech by threatening deportation and going after Chicago because it is a “sanctuary city.”
Bove, who helped defend Trump in his criminal case in Manhattan, is now in charge of the department’s daily work while the Senate prepares to vote on Pam Bondi, Trump’s choice for attorney general. A vote on her name is likely to happen this week.
Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, said Sunday that the operation in Chicago, which was focused on public safety threats with a criminal background, had resulted in some arrests, though he did not say how many. They included members of the Venezuelan gang Tren De Aragua and people with sexual offenses, some of whom he said had also been guilty of other crimes.
He stated that during the operation, ICE officers made “collateral arrests” by detaining migrants who were near the main target. Immigrant rights groups have criticized these arrests, which were not common during the Biden era.
Homan said that other actions are happening all over the country and will keep going. He mentioned that other agencies were helping ICE, which would lead to more arrests by officials.
“We’re putting a lot of effort into this, and having more resources will lead to more arrests,” he said, “which means getting more criminals off the streets.”
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