Trump administration launches immigration enforcement blitz in Chicago

The Trump administration launched an immigration enforcement blitz in Chicago on Sunday that includes several federal agencies that have been granted additional authorities to arrest undocumented immigrants in the US, according to multiple sources.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are expected to be joined by officials from multiple Department of Justice agencies as they target public safety and national security threats. It’s a multiday operation that will spread across the country.

In a statement, ICE confirmed the “enhanced targeted operations” in Chicago began Sunday.

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with federal partners, including the FBI, ATF, DEA, CBP and the U.S. Marshals Service, began conducting enhanced targeted operations today in Chicago to enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities,” the statement reads.

The Chicago operation is part of a broader effort to add manpower to ICE, which has limited resources and agents, as the administration tries to ramp up arrests nationwide and amass a larger force to carry out President Donald Trump’s deportation pledge.

ICE field offices have been told to meet a quota of 75 arrests per day as part of this effort to increase apprehensions of migrants in the US, according to two sources. In the last fiscal year, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted 113,431 administrative arrests, according to an agency report. That would be about 310 arrests a day across all field offices.

The latest directive to ICE teams would pave the way to surpassing the number of daily arrests in the past year while placing additional pressure on ICE officers as they try to meet the quota.

The immigration crackdown has included sweeping executive orders restricting legal pathways to come to the United States, expanding the powers of immigration authorities, attempting to ban birthright citizenship and threatening sanctuary jurisdictions. The deportations have also escalated tensions with at least two South American allies. Trump announced emergency retaliatory tariffs on Colombia after two repatriation flights of migrants were not allowed to land there, he said on his Truth Social network.

Late last week, acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman issued a directive giving Justice Department law enforcement officials immigration-enforcement authority. The agencies include the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, US Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

“Mobilizing these law enforcement officials will help fulfill President Trump’s promise to the American people to carry out mass deportations,” Huffman said in a statement announcing his directive.

White House border czar Tom Homan previously said if other undocumented immigrants are encountered over the course of authorities’ operations to detain immigrants with criminal records, they may also be arrested and detained — referring to these as “collateral” arrests. Homan is in Chicago to oversee operations, according to one of the sources.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove was in Chicago on Sunday to observe immigration enforcement operations.

“This morning, I had the privilege of observing brave men and women of the Department deploying in lockstep with DHS to address a national emergency arising from four years of failed immigration policy,” Bove said in a statement.

The Chicago Police Department said in a statement to CNN it does not document immigration status, and in accordance with its “Welcoming City Ordinance,” “does not share information with federal immigration authorities.”

“We will not intervene or interfere with any other government agencies performing their duties,” the statement reads.

Anxiety and fear among Chicago migrants

The intensified immigration actions have prompted some Chicago-area migrants to avoid attending school or going to work, according to a local non-profit.

Two elementary-aged sisters living in a Chicago suburb have not gone to school since Trump took office last week, the non-profit told CNN.

Their parents, who work cleaning homes and doing gig-type jobs such as landscaping, have not gone to work either, the non-profit told CNN.

The non-profit, which asked CNN not to publish its name nor the names of the migrants due to fear of retaliation, learned about the cooped-up Venezuelan family and started dropping off groceries at their doorstep.

“It’s frightening that this is the tip of the iceberg,” said Sam, one of the volunteers dropping off food.

Sam fears the number of families who are sheltering in place is much larger.

Chicago’s mayor, Brandon Johnson, launched a “Know Your Rights” campaign on hundreds of screens across mass transit buses and trains for those fearing deportation or struggling with a detained family member.

“Chicago will always be a Welcoming City, not just by ordinance, but also with our inclusive and loving spirit,” Johnson said in a news release.

Colorado raid targets gang members

Nearly 50 undocumented individuals were taken into custody during a Sunday morning raid targeting drug trafficking and Venezuelan gang members in Colorado, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Drugs, weapons and cash were seized during the raid at what the DEA called a “makeshift night club” in Adams County, on the northeast side of Denver.

“Dozens connected to the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang were there,” the DEA Rocky Mountain Division shared on X.

With the help of local and federal partners, the DEA said, its agents loaded the undocumented individuals onto a bus that drove away with a police vehicle following closely behind, according to a video the agency posted online.

Of the nearly 50 people taken into custody, the DEA said, “many” have TDA affiliations.

CNN has reached out to the DEA for more information.

Trump administration expands enforcement

Previous administrations, including the Biden administration, also sought out public safety and national security threats when carrying out immigration enforcement operations.

Homan has argued the guidelines under former President Joe Biden set up hurdles for officers targeting criminals, while former Biden officials maintained those guidelines established a clear focus.

Homan told ABC News in an interview that aired Sunday there’s “no number” of deportations needed to view Trump’s immigration agenda as successful, stating that “every public safety threat removed from this country is a success.”

“There’s no number on it. So my success is going to be based on what Congress gives us. More money, the better we’re going to do,” Homan said.

Homan said military flights to deport illegal immigrants will continue daily, calling the military’s role in mass deportations a “force multiplier” that “sends a strong signal” to the rest of the world. He added that he anticipates a greater volume of deportations over time.

“You can see the numbers steadily increase, the number of arrests nationwide as we open up the aperture,” he said. “Right now it’s considering public safety threats, national security threats. That’s a smaller population. So we’re going to do this on a priority basis as President Trump’s promised. But as that aperture opens, there’ll be more arrests nationwide.”

Chicago grappled with an influx of migrants during the Biden administration following surges along the US southern border and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to transport migrants to Democratic-led cities.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday that he, too, wants violent criminals out of the country, but he expressed concern about how the administration is carrying out operations.

“If that’s who they’re picking up, we’re all for it,” Pritzker said. But, the Democratic governor said, “They’re going after people who are law-abiding, who are holding down jobs, who have families here, who may have been here for a decade or two decades.”

“Why are we going after them? These are not people who are causing problems in our country,” Pritzker said on “State of the Union.”

Immigrant advocacy groups in Chicago also filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the weekend arguing the administration targeted the city for being a sanctuary jurisdiction. The term is broadly applied to jurisdictions that have policies in place designed to limit cooperation with or involvement in federal immigration enforcement actions. How such policies are enforced can vary.

The suit was filed by Organized Communities Against Deportation, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and Brighton Park Neighborhood Council.

The plaintiffs claim the administration’s planned operations target the city for its sanctuary status and amount to a violation of their First Amendment right to free speech and Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.

“President Donald Trump and Defendant Benjamine Huffman, the Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), have declared Chicago ‘ground zero’ for immigration enforcement; the federal government intends to ‘make an example of Chicago’ and quash the Sanctuary City movement,” the court filing states. “The federal government’s decision to target the Plaintiffs’ communities because of its animus towards the Sanctuary City movement is a clear violation of the First Amendment.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement it doesn’t comment on pending litigation. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

This story has been updated with new reporting.

CNN’s Evan Perez, Aaron Pellish, Sarah Dewberry, Alejandra Jaramillo, Gloria Pazmino, Eric Levenson, Zoe Sottile and Jillian Sykes contributed to this report.

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