After weeks of threats from Donald Trump and counter-threats from Chicago politicians, the Department of Homeland Security announced “Operation Midway Blitz,” an effort to target “criminal illegal aliens” who have flooded the state of Illinois to take advantage of its sanctuary policies.
“For years, Governor [JB] Pritzker and his fellow sanctuary politicians released Tren de Aragua gang members, rapists, kidnappers, and drug traffickers on Chicago’s streets — putting American lives at risk and making Chicago a magnet for criminals,” said Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary. “President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] 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.”
On Monday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson anticipated the administration’s action, saying the surge of federal law enforcement was unnecessary.
“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,” Johnson wrote in the New York Times.
While questions have been raised about the accuracy of Chicago’s violent crime statistics, the number of murders is hard to fudge. What Johnson isn’t saying is that the 123 murders from June 1 to August 31 don’t include either the Memorial Day or Labor Day holiday weekends, when shootings always spike.
Over the Labor Day weekend, eight Chicagoans died and 58 more were wounded in a spasm of violence typical of the city during summer holidays. The numbers were more than double from last year, when six people died and another 27 were wounded during the 2024 Labor Day holiday weekend.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, running hard for the Democratic presidential nomination, said the crackdown was not about fighting crime.
Once again, this isn’t about fighting crime. 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. https://t.co/LoFPM0E4PF
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) September 8, 2025
The “support and coordination” the governor is referring to does not exist in Illinois. That’s the point. Illinois is refusing to cooperate with ICE and Homeland Security in rounding up and, more importantly, keeping in custody criminal illegal aliens. He’s pretending that Democratic politicians in Illinois aren’t the problem.
Meanwhile, whether or not Trump will deploy the National Guard to Chicago is still unknown.
The Homeland Security statement marks the first official word from the Trump administration about increased immigration enforcement after weeks of Trump vacillating between vows of “going in” to Chicago with the potential deployment of National Guard troops to fight overall crime, to a stepped-up immigration enforcement role by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. ICE has secured an office at Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago to serve as an operations hub for its activities.
There was no word on how long the ICE operation would last, and there was also no mention of whether Trump would deploy the National Guard to play a supporting role.
“We are concerned about potential militarized immigration enforcement without due process because of ICE’s track record of detaining and deporting American citizens and violating the human rights of hundreds of detainees,” Johnson said in a statement.
Unless ICE agents and other federal law enforcement personnel come under attack or are threatened by mobs as they were in Los Angeles, Trump will not call the National Guard to Chicago.
But Johnson is spoiling for a fight. While his rhetoric has softened a bit since his August 30 executive order that breathed fire and smoke, Johnson would like nothing better than to provoke Trump into deploying the Guard to Chicago. Then it will be “Brandon Johnson Theater” as the former teachers’ union organizer creates dramatic, completely fabricated confrontations.
Pritzker has shown some ability to get Johnson to dial it back in tense situations. The last thing the governor needs is to be seen supporting a loose cannon like Johnson, who might incite street violence in Chicago.
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