CHICAGO ‒ After much speculation and teasing by President Donald Trump, the Department of Homeland Security said it is launching Operation Midway Blitz, a new initiative targeting undocumented immigrants who commit crimes across Chicago and Illinois.

The DHS said a social media post on Sept. 8 that the operation is in honor of Katie Abraham, a 20-year-old woman from one of Chicago’s northwest suburbs who was killed in a hit-and-run crash in January by Julio Cucul Bol, a 29-year-old Guatemalan national who is in the United States illegally.

DHS said the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation will target people in the country illegally who commit crimes and "flocked to Chicago and Illinois." Hundreds of Homeland Security officials are expected to operate from a naval base outside Chicago.

Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the operation will go after "the worst of the worst," accusing Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and other local politicians of releasing gang members, rapists, kidnappers and drug traffickers that put lives at risk.

"President Trump and Secretary Noem have a clear message: no city is a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens," McLaughlin said. "If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will hunt you down, arrest you, deport you, and you will never return.”

The announcement by DHS comes as Chicago is bracing for the Trump administration's deployment of National Guard troops and more ICE agents. Last week, Trump said, "we're going in," in response to a violent Labor Day weekend. Meanwhile, Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have vigorously rejected the notion and said they will stand up to Trump's "tyranny."

On Sept. 7, Trump told reporters that Chicago is a "very dangerous place" and that he could "solve Chicago very quickly."

'It’s about terrorizing our communities': Chicagoans slam Trump raids

A large group of Chicago immigration activists and local Latino political leaders gathered on the city’s Southwest Side, a longtime destination for Mexican immigrants, to slam Trump’s immigration raids.

"What we're experiencing today is not normal," said Rey Wences of the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights, a Prairie State immigration advocacy group. “People going out in the street and being snatched from their family members is not normal."

Immigration agents have detained at least three people so far, according to the immigrant rights group. Brandon Lee, a group spokesperson, said he expects the actual number is higher as there is a delay in arrests being reported.

"These abductions were seemingly random," Wences said, "with agents profiling and approaching community members on the street."

The Illinois immigrant rights group has set up a hotline where Chicagoans can report sightings of ICE agents. Immigration activists also respond to the sightings in person, distributing information on what rights people have when confronted by immigration agents and recording the detainments if they arrive in time.

"It’s never been about arresting the worst of the worst," said Alderwoman Jeylú Gutiérrez, the city council representative for Chicago’s 14th Ward. "It’s about terrorizing our communities. But we will not be intimidated."

War of words escalating between Trump, Pritzker

In a Truth Social post on Sept. 8, the president criticized Pritzker for not requesting federal help after Trump said six people were killed and 12 were injured by gunfire in Chicago over the weekend.

"I want to help the people of Chicago, not hurt them," Trump wrote. "Only Criminals will be hurt!"

Pritzker soon responded with his own post on X: "'I want to help people, not hurt them,' says the guy who just threatened an American city with the Department of War."

In a Sept. 6 Truth Social post, Trump paraphrased a line from the Oscar-winning movie "Apocalypse Now" to threaten continued deportations of undocumented immigrants in Chicago. It came a day after Trump also signed an executive order changing the name of the Defense Department to the War Department, the name it had from the nation's founding through World War II.

"I love the smell of deportations in the morning," Trump wrote, converting a line about napalm in the Vietnam War to refer to deportations. "Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR."

In response, Pritzker later said on X that his state won't be intimidated.

"The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke," Pritzker wrote. "This is not normal. Donald Trump isn't a strongman, he's a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator."

And Illinois' longtime U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said on Sept. 8 that Trump continues to “wrongly hyper-fixate” on deploying the military to Chicago.

“These actions don’t make us safer. They are a waste of money, stoke fear, and represent another failed attempt at a distraction,” said Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Durbin also had a message to the hardworking immigrant families, who he said are now scared to send their children to school, the hospital, or to report crimes to the police.

"We stand with you. Please know that a majority of Americans do not support these anti-immigrant actions by the Trump administration," said Durbin, who will be stepping down at year's end. "While the president exhibits disdain for immigrants, Chicago embraces them as family who help make our economy thrive and our city strong."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump administration launches Chicago immigration crackdown Operation Midway Blitz

Reporting by Terry Collins and Michael Loria, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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