Donald Trump’s team is planning to kick off a major immigration operation in Chicago soon. This move aims to locate and deport individuals living in the city without legal permission. While city officials are strategizing ways to counter this plan, a significant number of Chicago’s residents are showing support for the initiative.
According to The Wall Street Journal, this operation by the incoming Trump administration is anticipated to happen in the third week of January, right after Trump’s inauguration. It is supposed to start on a Tuesday morning, the day after Trump’s inauguration, and will continue for a whole week. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is expected to dispatch between 100 to 200 officers to execute this operation.
Furthermore, the Associated Press has mentioned that Trump’s officials have a list of over 300 individuals with violent criminal records whom they plan to detain and deport to their countries of origin.
Tom Homan, who is set to become Trump’s border czar, has issued a clear message to Chicago and its mayor, Brandon Johnson. Homan stated, “We’re going to start right here in Chicago, Illinois. 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.”
At the same time, Chicago’s city council is rallying against ICE’s efforts to detain and deport these individuals. Recently, an amendment aimed at loosening the city’s policy that prevents the Chicago Police Department from collaborating with federal authorities was overwhelmingly rejected.
In fact, more than three-quarters of Chicago’s 50 aldermen voted against a proposal by alderman Raymond Lopez and alderwoman Silvana Tabares. This proposal would have allowed the Chicago Police Department to assist ICE in identifying and deporting undocumented individuals convicted of various violent offenses.
Mayor Brandon Johnson expressed satisfaction with the vote, which upheld the city’s sanctuary policies. He remarked, “Our job is to make sure that people are protected and safe. That is the top priority of any government, and that’s what we’re going to do.” Johnson also accused those attempting to roll back protections for undocumented immigrants of inciting fear.
Despite Johnson’s assurances that Chicagoans are pleased with his efforts to keep them “safe,” many locals have voiced strong opposition to his generous support for undocumented immigrants, which they see as costly.
Chicago city hall meetings have become quite lively, with citizens frequently crowding the gallery to protest Johnson’s continued efforts to redirect budget funds and city resources away from African American communities and towards the tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants who have been welcomed into the city at his invitation.
Back in November, a large number of voters gathered at city hall to oppose Johnson’s plan to significantly raise taxes to fund services for undocumented immigrants.
Johnson’s attempt to increase taxes was unsuccessful in that round of budget discussions, but protests against his policies have persisted. In a subsequent city hall meeting, Johnson even cleared the room to prevent citizen protesters from voicing their concerns as he continued to advocate for more spending on undocumented migrants.
A few weeks prior to these events, some Chicagoans called for Tom Homan, the incoming Trump border czar, to arrest Mayor Johnson for allegedly obstructing the deportation of undocumented immigrants with criminal records.
Similar incidents have been occurring since 2023, as citizens have risen up to protest Johnson’s perceived loyalty to undocumented immigrants over his own constituents.
These ongoing protests and conflicts have negatively affected Johnson’s approval ratings, making him one of the nation’s least popular big-city mayors. A Change Research poll from November found that 75 percent of Chicago voters disapprove of Johnson’s performance as mayor. Another poll conducted that same month by Urban City Action and M3 Strategies reported that 60 percent of respondents viewed Johnson unfavorably, with only 28 percent expressing a favorable opinion.
