CHICAGO — High-ranking officials from the Trump administration, including Tom Homan, referred to as the “border czar,” alongside the acting deputy attorney general, arrived in Chicago on Sunday to observe intensified immigration enforcement efforts unfolding in the nation’s third-largest city. The visit coincided with federal agencies announcing a surge in arrests nationwide.
Details regarding the operations remained limited, particularly concerning the specific number of arrests conducted. However, the involvement of numerous federal agencies indicated President Donald Trump’s commitment to employing a wide array of federal law enforcement resources, extending beyond the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to implement his anticipated mass deportation strategy.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported a total of 956 arrests across the country on Sunday and an additional 286 on Saturday. Although certain operations were relatively routine, ICE had recorded an average of 311 arrests per day in the previous fiscal year that concluded on September 30.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove noted his observations of immigration agents from the DHS collaborating with personnel from the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). While he refrained from sharing specific details regarding the operation, it followed a recent decision by DHS to empower other Justice Department agencies, including the DEA and ATF, with immigration enforcement authority.
“We will advocate for all entities at the federal, state, and local levels involved in this essential mission to rejuvenate our communities,” Bove declared in a statement. “We will utilize all tools at our disposal to confront any obstructions and unlawful challenges to our efforts to safeguard the homeland. Above all, we will not cease until the mission is accomplished.”
Popular daytime television psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw interviewed Homan and broadcast the Chicago event live through his television network, MERIT TV, with additional media personnel present during the operation. Observations from other reporters were anticipated for the upcoming week.
The DEA’s Chicago branch shared images on social media showing Bove and Homan alongside agents from ATF and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Operations similar to those in Chicago have been regularly reported across the nation since Trump assumed office, as asserted by ICE’s ongoing initiatives. Social media communications from various DEA and Homeland Security offices suggested a series of operations over the weekend in states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Nebraska, and Texas.
In Colorado, the DEA revealed images from an operation targeting drug trafficking by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, resulting in approximately 50 detentions. Jonathan Pullen, the special agent in charge of the DEA’s Rocky Mountain Division, stated that around 100 agents and officers, including those from the DEA, ICE, ATF, and Homeland Security Investigations, executed a federal search warrant around 5 a.m. on Sunday at a location where reported gang members had gathered.
ICE ultimately took nearly 50 individuals into custody and transported them to a processing center in Aurora, with around 40 still held by ICE as of Sunday afternoon. Pullen mentioned that while conducting investigations at the scene, ICE determined that many individuals were in the country illegally or had violated immigration laws, leading to their arrest.
He noted a handful of U.S. citizens were also present at the gathering. Investigators seized various drugs, including cocaine, several handguns, and cash, emphasizing that the inquiry began during the Biden administration and has continued under Trump. Collaboration between the DEA and ICE is longstanding, and Pullen stated that their coordination was not a new development.
A Trump executive order enables organizations like Tren de Aragua to be classified as “foreign terrorist organizations.” Footage captured last summer showed armed gang members entering an apartment complex in Aurora, an incident that drew attention during the Trump campaign.
Many residents in Chicago had been apprehensive prior to the operation. According to ICE spokesperson Jeff Carter, enhanced targeted operations began on Sunday in the city, though further details were withheld. Representatives for the FBI, ATF, and DEA acknowledged their participation but did not disclose additional information.
The tense environment is particularly palpable within immigrant communities, which have been on high alert for imminent arrests that the Trump administration has been promoting. Over the past week, tensions escalated following remarks from senior Trump officials about commencing immigration enforcement in Chicago, only to later retract those statements.
Last week, Bove issued a directive for federal prosecutors to scrutinize state or local officials suspected of obstructing the administration’s immigration enforcement initiatives, signaling a warning to numerous sanctuaries across the nation.
Chicago’s strong sanctuary policies reportedly limit cooperation between local law enforcement and immigration authorities. To tackle the anticipated crackdown, immigrant rights organizations have launched initiatives aimed at educating communities about their rights in the event of detentions. City officials have similarly disseminated information at public transportation hubs.
Just a few days prior, Chicago Public Schools mistakenly assumed ICE agents had entered a local elementary school and issued statements to that effect, later clarifying that the individuals were Secret Service agents. This incident sparked swift backlash from community organizations and Governor JB Pritzker, who has historically been critical of Trump’s administration.
The Democratic governor raised concerns regarding the intense enforcement measures and the potential negative impact on compliant immigrants who have lived in the country for years. “We need to eliminate violent criminals. However, we must also safeguard the rights of individuals who are simply attempting to contribute positively to society,” Pritzker commented during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
In a further response, several immigrant rights groups based in Chicago filed a lawsuit against ICE, seeking to block particular types of raids in the city. Antonio Gutierrez from Organized Communities Against Deportation, one of the plaintiffs, stated, “Immigrant communities who have made Chicago home for generations are filled with fear. We refuse to submit to intimidation and will vigorously oppose any efforts that undermine the unity we have worked so hard to achieve.”
