By Tom Polansek and Ted Hesson
CHICAGO (Reuters) -The Trump administration said on Monday that it had launched an immigration enforcement action in Chicago and other parts of Illinois dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” but the scope of the operation was unclear and the state’s Democratic governor said he was in the dark.
In a press release, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the operation was necessary because of city and state “sanctuary” laws that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
President Donald Trump, a Republican, for weeks has signaled that he could send National Guard troops and federal officers to the Democratic stronghold of Chicago to combat crime and illegal immigration.
The immigration operation announced on Monday appeared to resemble more typical Trump-era immigration enforcement operations rather than troop deployments he had authorized in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., over the summer.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, both Democrats, have criticized the plans, with Pritzker saying Trump would use troops to manipulate the 2026 midterm elections.
“The Governor’s Office has received no formal communication or information from the Trump Administration,” Pritzker spokesperson Matt Hill said. “Like the public and press, we are learning of their operations through their social media as they attempt to produce a reality television show.”
In a post on Truth Social on Monday, Trump cited recent murders and shootings in Chicago and blamed Pritzker for making no requests for assistance from the Trump administration.
“I want to help the people of Chicago, not hurt them,” Trump wrote. “Only the Criminals will be hurt! We can move fast and stop this madness.”
In a separate post on Saturday, Trump posted a meme based on the 1979 Vietnam War movie “Apocalypse Now” that showed an image of the Chicago skyline with flames and helicopters, reminiscent of the deadly helicopter attack on a Vietnamese village in the film.
In the press release announcing the Chicago operation, the Homeland Security Department released a list of several immigrants in the U.S. illegally who were convicted of crimes and allegedly released by Illinois jails. The crimes included assault, burglary, drug possession, and other offenses, as well as allegations of gang membership.
The Trump administration launched a parallel immigration enforcement operation in Boston in recent days, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official confirmed on Monday.
(Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago and Ted Hesson in Washington; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Steve Gorman; Writing by Ted Hesson; Editing by Frank McGurty, Rod Nickel)
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