President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration is currently reassessing plans for immigration raids scheduled in Chicago next week, following a leak of information about the operation. Tom Homan, Trump’s designated “border czar” and former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), revealed to the Washington Post that the new administration has yet to make a final decision.
Homan stated that the administration is “looking at this leak” and will base their decision on the leaked information. The Trump team has not yet issued an official comment on the matter.
According to reports, Trump’s administration had been planning a series of immigration sweeps in several U.S. cities shortly after his inauguration, with Chicago identified as one of the first targets. The raids were anticipated to begin early Monday morning, with as many as 200 ICE agents in the Chicago area. Dulce Ortiz, president of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, told Reuters that agents would likely target individuals as they headed to work or started their day, continuing the operation for several days.
Reports also suggested that raids were expected in other cities, including New York and Miami, with ICE preparing for a large-scale operation in Chicago, potentially involving hundreds of agents. While ICE did not comment on the specifics, the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to requests for clarification.
Pl watch the video and subscribe to the YouTube channel of republicpolicy.com for quality podcasts:
In an NBC News interview on Saturday, Trump confirmed that mass deportations, a central promise from his election campaign, would be among his top priorities. However, he stopped short of naming the cities that would be targeted or providing a timeline for the deportations, only stating that they would begin “very quickly” to remove criminals from the U.S.
Homan, speaking to Fox News earlier, appeared to confirm that “targeted enforcement operations” would focus on migrants who are in the U.S. illegally and are under deportation orders. He mentioned that these operations would take place in various cities and that the targets had been carefully planned.
Homan emphasized the importance of securing the U.S. border and carrying out deportation operations, even if sanctuary cities—those that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement—resist the efforts. He criticized sanctuary city policies, arguing that they jeopardize public safety by releasing individuals back into communities who are under deportation orders. Homan made it clear that ICE would carry out the operations with or without local cooperation.
As the incoming administration prepares for its first major immigration enforcement actions, the country remains divided over how such policies will impact immigrant communities, especially in cities that have pledged not to assist federal immigration authorities.