Trump’s deportation plan could begin next week in Chicago

The incoming Trump administration plans to carry out “post-inauguration” immigration raids in Chicago next week, according to two people familiar with the planning and correspondence reviewed by The New York Times, marking a first step. in President-elect Donald Trump’s goal of leading the largest deportation operation in US history.

The plan, called “Operation Safeguard” by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), would begin on Tuesday, the day after Trump’s inauguration, and would last until the following Monday, according to people familiar with him and correspondence. However, the dates were still being finalized and could change.

The magnitude of the planned operation was unclear. ICE routinely carries out deportations in cities across the United States. But the agency was taking additional steps to ramp up law enforcement for the operation and linked it to Trump’s inauguration in a message sent to staff across the agency.

Hundreds of officers were asked to volunteer and participate in the “post-inauguration” operation targeting immigrants in the United States illegally. ICE plans to send about 150 agents to Chicago for the raids.

For Trump, the public perception of immigration agents decked out in ballistic gear detaining immigrants of uncertain or questionable status in a Democratic-run city might be enough. The incoming administration is eager to find ways to send the message that it is cracking down on undocumented immigrants and punishing so-called “sanctuary cities,” communities like Chicago that refuse to turn over detained immigrants to federal immigration authorities. by the police.