The Department of Homeland Security is launching a crackdown in Chicago dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz” as state and local officials push back on the Trump administration.
The operation will “target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they knew Governor Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets,” the agency said in a Monday afternoon statement on X.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker slammed the escalation in a post on X.
“Once again, this isn't about fighting crime,” Pritzker wrote. “That requires support and coordination — yet we've experienced nothing like that over the past several weeks. Instead of taking steps to work with us on public safety, the Trump Administration's focused on scaring Illinoisians.”
The operation is being carried out “in honor of Katie Abraham,” the DHS says. Abraham, 20, and her friend Chloe Polzin were killed in a hit-and-run car wreck in January, allegedly caused by Julio Cucul-Bol, a citizen of Guatemala, the Urbana Police Department said.
Cucul-Bol was arrested in Texas on a bus heading to Matamoros, Mexico, Urbana police said. He has since been charged with driving under the influence, reckless homicide and leaving the scene of the crash.
In May, he was also charged with possessing a false permanent resident card, possessing a false Social Security card, false use of a passport and making a false statement on a bank application, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of Illinois.
Abraham’s parents described her as a smart, spirited young woman in a video shared by the DHS.
“Katie is one of these unique kids. She had such a unique personality,” her father, Joe Abraham, said. “She was very spirited. She made everyone feel seen. She's very engaging. Her sense of humor was incredible. Her wit was so sharp.”
White House border czar Tom Homan warned on Sunday the city should expect a wave of immigration enforcement actions this week. The use of National Guard troops is also “on the table,” Homan noted. Some 300 federal agents are now using North Chicago's Naval Station Great Lakes as a logistical hub, ABC 7 reports.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were already making arrests over the weekend, according to local officials. Alderwoman Jeylú Gutiérrez released a statement Sunday night saying "at least 5 individuals” were detained on the Southwest Side, according to ABC 7.
It’s unclear how long the operation in Chicago will last. An ICE spokesperson said the agency has “always operated in Chicago” in a statement to CBS News.
“We 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 Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice,” the spokesperson said.
As the operation was announced on Monday afternoon, ICE posted a photo of an agency vehicle near the Willis Tower in downtown Chicago.
State and local officials were quick to respond this weekend after President Donald Trump shared a Saturday morning post on Truth Social, writing that Chicago is “about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.” Attached to the post was an AI-generated image of Trump in a cowboy hat and aviator sunglasses with the Chicago skyline in the background, engulfed in flames. The image included the words “Chipocalypse Now,” in an apparent reference to the 1979 Vietnam War movie Apocalypse Now.
Trump downplayed the post on Sunday when a reporter asked whether he was “threatening” war with Chicago. The president responded: “We’re not going to war. We’re going to clean up our cities.”
Pritzker said he will not “pretend that any of this is normal” in a Sunday statement.
“I refuse to concede that the abject cruelty that we’re seeing play out with the execution of Trump and Stephen Millers’ policies are OK or justified,” the governor said. “I refuse to fall into the pundit trap that demands we sacrifice vital Constitutional rights if it’s being done in the fake guise of fighting crime.”
Pritzker has repeatedly criticized Trump’s immigration policies and recent remarks about Chicago. He also slammed Trump’s recent Truth Social post criticizing gun violence in Chicago on Monday morning. In his original post, Trump said: “I want to help the people of Chicago, not hurt them. Only Criminals will be hurt!"
“‘I want to help people, not hurt them,’ says the guy who just threatened an American city with the Department of War,” Pritzker wrote on X.
As Pritzker and Trump exchanged jabs, demonstrators flooded Chicago’s streets to protest the Trump administration’s immigration policies over the weekend.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also called sending in the National Guard “the wrong solution to a real problem,” in a guest essay for The New York Times published Monday.
“But lowering crime rates here does not require an occupation of our city by armed members of the National Guard, as the White House continues to threaten us with,” Johnson wrote. “Chicagoans, including survivors of violence, have spoken out against such an extreme measure.”
“If President Trump had listened to the city’s leaders, he would recognize that Chicago just experienced record-low homicide numbers, making this the safest summer since the 1960s, a result of effective collaboration between communities and law enforcement,” he added.
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