Chicago officials are preparing for an influx of federal law enforcement officials in their city as immigration raids could begin as soon as next week, according to reports.
The city, which Trump has long characterized as a “killing field” overrun with crime and housing dangerous immigrants, has recently become a clear target for President Donald Trump’s deployment of federal law enforcement officials. Last week, Trump said Chicago would likely be “next” in his crime crackdown. Then, on Thursday, the New York Times reported that the administration had asked a military base outside of Chicago for assistance while conducting immigration operations in the city.
Chicago officials have consistently pushed back on Trump’s claim and demanded the president not federalize the Illinois National Guard.
But, it seems, city officials have resigned to the fact that the president will likely send troops – though the amount, and what branch of law enforcement they are, are less clear. Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling told reporters that local police are “willing to have” conversations about cooperation with the administration to reduce fear in the city.
“To make sure that we’re not stoking fears through neighborhoods and we don’t have people running scared and it doesn’t create chaos on our streets, we’re willing to have those conversations,” Snelling said.
Snelling said they were unsure about what the administration would implement, because they have not communicated that information with Chicago officials.
“The key here is to communicate, to have some type of communication, so that nothing gets out of hand, nothing gets out of control, and we maintain peace in our city,” Snelling said.
Administration officials will likely going to send in Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Patrol, and other members of the Department of Homeland Security – similar to those that were sent into Los Angeles in June to conduct sweeping immigration raids.
Border Czar Tom Homan told NewsNation this week that “a large contingent” of ICE officers would be sent to Chicago, but did not say how many.
Trump and Chicago officials have clashed over the city’s policies that prohibit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal law enforcement – policies that make the city known as a “sanctuary city.” The president has misrepresented immigrants as dangerous criminals who are being protected by the city while committing crimes. In reality, undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit violent crime than U.S.-born citizens.
The New York Times estimated that around 200 homeland security officials would be sent to the Midwest city. Reports have emerged that those deployments could happen as early as next week.
The administration could also federalize the Illinois National Guard and send members in, along with other branches of federal law enforcement, such as agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Explosives and Firearms.
Those are the agencies Trump has sent into D.C. to control its “crime emergency.”
The president has also claimed crime is rampant and uncontrollable in Chicago. But much like D.C., Chicago crime statistics show that homicides decreased by 7.3 percent in 2024 compared to 2023, with the city experiencing fewer than 600 murders for the first time in five years. Non-fatal shootings declined 3.7 percent between 2024 and 2023.
