CHICAGO – Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 13 people in Chicago as part of Operation Midway Blitz, a new enforcement effort aimed at undocumented immigrants with criminal records.
What we know:
Federal officials said those arrested include “dangerous criminal illegal aliens” with prior convictions or pending charges for crimes ranging from sexual assault of a child to armed robbery and domestic violence. Among them were individuals from Mexico, Guatemala, India and Kyrgyzstan.
DHS said the 13 people below are “some of the worst of the worst offenders arrested”:
The backstory:
Operation Midway Blitz, launched on Monday, is named in honor of Katie Abraham, a 20-year-old woman who was killed in January in a drunk driving crash in Champaign, Illinois. Authorities said the driver, who fled the scene but was arrested days later on a bus in Texas headed for the Mexican border, was a Guatemalan national in the country illegally.
What they’re saying:
In a statement, Assistant Secretary at DHS Tricia McLaughlin said undocumented immigrants flock to Illinois because “sanctuary policies allow them to roam free and terrorize innocent Americans without consequence.”
“In just the last few days in Chicago, ICE has arrested pedophiles, rapists, abusers, armed robbers, and other violent thugs. These are the criminal illegal aliens Governor Pritzker, Mayor Johnson, and their fellow sanctuary politicians protect over the law-abiding American citizens,” said McLaughlin. “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.”
Sen. Dick Durbin, in a previous statement, called the effort “a waste of money” that “stokes fear.”
“To the hardworking immigrant families who are now scared to send your children to school, go to the hospital, or report crimes to the police: we stand with you. Please know that a majority of Americans do not support these anti-immigrant actions by the Trump Administration,” Durban said. “While the President exhibits disdain for immigrants, Chicago embraces them as family who help make our economy thrive and our city strong.”
Meanwhile, Mayor Brandon Johnson recently signed an executive order reinforcing Chicago’s sanctuary policies, barring city police from collaborating with federal immigration agents.
“We will not have our police officers who are working hard every single day to drive down crime deputized to do traffic stops and checkpoints for the president,” Johnson said.
The order also requires Chicago officers to wear uniforms and not wear masks to “clearly distinguish them from federal agents.”
Big picture view:
ICE has been ramping up its mass deportation efforts since President Donald Trump took office in January, including in large cities such as Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
In recent weeks, Trump has expressed interest in cracking down on crime in Chicago after a multi-agency surge in D.C. has led to a reported decrease in crime and hundreds of immigration-related arrests.
“I think it’s going to be very targeted towards a lot of people with criminal records either that have been let out of jail and maybe have been convicted or let out of jail pending trial,” former acting ICE Chief Jonathan Fahey said about Operation Midway Blitz.
What’s next:
“DHS will continue our law enforcement and public safety mission undeterred as we surge ICE resources in the city in coordination with our federal partners from across the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice,” DHS said in a statement.
