The Department of Homeland Security said it was moving forward with ramped-up immigration enforcement in Chicago this week in an effort dubbed Operation Midway Blitz.
"This ICE operation will target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they knew Governor Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American Streets," the department said in a statement Monday. The department said the mission would be carried out "in honor of Katie Abraham," who was killed in a drunk driving hit-and-run crash that happened in Urbana, about 130 miles south of Chicago, earlier this year.
Spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the operation "will target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in Chicago."
The department did not specify how long the operation is expected to last.
The move comes after President Trump, in a post on Truth Social on Saturday, invoked imagery from the movie "Apocalypse Now" and wrote, "'I love the smell of deportations in the morning ...' Chicago about to find out why it's called the Department of WAR."
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, accused the Trump administration of ramping up its campaign "to arrest hardworking immigrants with no criminal convictions."
"These actions don't make us safer. They are a waste of money, stoke fear, and represent another failed attempt at a distraction," Durbin said in a statement.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened to add Chicago to the list of other Democratic-led cities he's targeted for expanded federal enforcement, including Los Angeles and Washington. The move marks the latest flashpoint in a broader national struggle over how far the federal government can push local authorities to cooperate with its immigration agenda.
This is a developing story and will be updated.