The Pentagon has reportedly approved federal immigration law enforcement to utilize the naval base located outside of Chicago as a staging ground for officers to conduct sweeping immigration raids in the city.
Naval Station Great Lakes, located roughly 30 miles north of downtown Chicago, will serve as a home base of sorts for the operation, which will be led by the Department of Homeland Security, two officials familiar with the matter told the Washington Post on Thursday.
For weeks, President Donald Trump has been hinting that the administration will target Chicago next for the sweeping immigration raids, but it has remained unclear when the operation would begin.
Last month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials asked for permission to use Naval Station Great Lakes to house its ICE and Customs and Border Protection agents from September 2 through September 30.
The status of the request remained unclear until the Post’s reporting on Thursday. While the administration confirmed they had made the request, they have also made a point to keep details of such an operation scant to prevent opposing officials or groups from making preparations.
The Independent has asked the Pentagon and ICE for comment.
The expected immigration raids in Chicago are part of Trump’s mass deportation agenda, which he heavily campaigned on last year. Trump has promised to deport more than 1 million immigrants from the U.S. using any means available to him.
Many of the immigration raids have been targeted at Democratic-run cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, or Boston – places that Trump has decried as “sanctuary cities” that protect “dangerous” criminals.
In reality, the cities abide by “sanctuary” policies that either prevent or limit local law enforcement’s ability to communicate with federal immigration law enforcement.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order over the weekend that affirms the Chicago Police Department cannot work with federal law enforcement.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has urged Trump not to send in federal law enforcement and warned residents of Chicago about potential upcoming raids targeting people in Latino communities.
Naval Station Great Lakes could also potentially be used to house National Guard members if Trump decides to deploy the troops into the city. Earlier this year, Trump sent the National Guard into Los Angeles to protect immigration enforcement and federal property after several anti-ICE protests emerged.
It’s unclear if the president will make that decision since a federal judge in California recently said Trump’s use of the National Guard in California violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which prevents the military from being used for domestic law enforcement.
But Trump could also choose to send in other federal law enforcement from the FBI or Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as he did in Washington, D.C., to combat crime. Trump has described Chicago as a “hellhole” and “killing field.”
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