Just one day after President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated for the second time, the new administration will kick off large-scale deportations, starting with a massive raid in Chicago, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing four anonymous individuals 'familiar with the planning.'
The raid, expected to begin on Tuesday morning, will involve 100-200 officers from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (and is of course being reported in the WSJ so the migrants have ample warning to relocate).
As the Journal notes further, the Trump administration will target illegal immigrants with criminal backgrounds first. Many of them had offenses 'too minor' for the Biden administration to pursue, however if any illegals are present during a raid or an arrest, regardless of criminal history, they will be taken and deported as well.
The transition team had been contemplating cities to target in a day-one operation as a way of making an example of so-called sanctuary cities, which adopt policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities. They settled on Chicago both because of the large number of immigrants who could be possible targets and because of the Trump team’s high-profile feud with the city’s Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Though it isn’t clear how many people the operation will actually target, Trump’s team is planning to work with several right-leaning media outlets to amplify its efforts. -WSJ
Incoming border czar Tom Homan teased the raid last month during a visit to Chicago.
"We’re going to start right here in Chicago, Illinois," he said at a holiday party on Chicago' North Side. "And if the Chicago mayor doesn’t want to help, he can step aside. But if he impedes us, if he knowingly harbors or conceals an illegal alien, I will prosecute him."
In response, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) said "I’m going to make sure to follow the law. I’m concerned that the Trump administration and his lackeys aren’t going to follow the law."
'Sanctuary Cities' In The Crosshairs
In addition to Chicago, large immigrant centers such as New York, Los Angeles, Denver and Miami are looking at raids of their own. To carry out these actions, the Trump administration is weighing a broad mix of changes that would give sheriffs more power - and reward jurisdictions that cooperate, while financially punishing those which don't. Homan has already threatened to throw the mayor of Denver in jail.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has already said they wouldn't help, saying in a statement that local officials banned cooperation with ICE in 2020, and that "We are here to protect the communities we serve, not to enforce immigration laws."
Which means they can say goodbye to potentially billions of dollars in federal grants.
Migrant rights groups are freaking out, meanwhile.
"If the intent is to instill a sense of terror and persecution, that’s what the Trump administration is doing very well," said Jorge-Mario Cabrera, spokesman for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, which says it has conducted over 140 workshops since the election to teach illegals how to avoid, and resist, the incoming Trump administration.
Under the Biden administration an official 10 million migrants have entered the US illegally - however unofficial figures peg the number north of 20 million.
