Washington — The incoming Trump administration is preparing to escalate operations to arrest unauthorized immigrants across major U.S. cities next week after President-elect Donald Trump takes office, targeting “sanctuary” jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration officials, according to two sources familiar with the plans, who spoke to our Correspondent “CBS News”.
The locations expected to be targeted by deportation teams from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) include areas with large immigrant populations, such as the Chicago area, one of the sources said.
When asked on “Fox News” about a potential ICE operation in Chicago next week—first reported by The Wall Street Journal—incoming White House “border czar” Tom Homan confirmed, “There’s gonna be a big raid all across the country.”
Trump has promised to launch an aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration immediately after being sworn in, vowing to oversee the largest deportation effort in U.S. history.
The incoming administration is expected to quickly reverse Biden administration rules that limit the categories of immigrants ICE agents prioritize for arrest and deportation. Under the Biden-era rules, ICE enforcement was generally limited to serious criminals, recent border-crossers, and national security threats, effectively shielding long-standing undocumented immigrants without criminal histories from deportation.
Homan has also pledged to reinstate large-scale immigration arrests at worksites that employ unauthorized workers, a practice that was discontinued under the Biden administration.
While Homan has stated that the incoming administration will still prioritize unauthorized immigrants with criminal records for arrest, he has emphasized that no one in the country unlawfully will be exempt from immigration enforcement.
If ICE agents encounter unauthorized immigrants who are not criminals during operations, they may be arrested in what are known as “collateral arrests,” Homan has said.
