Aug. 31 (UPI) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Sunday confirmed that the Trump administration plans to increase immigration resources in Chicago as part of a federal effort to fight crime in the city.
In an appearance on CBS News’ Face the Nation, Noem said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would expand operations in Chicago to “go after the worst of the worst in the country, like President [Donald] Trump has told us to do.”
She explained that the agency will target people involved in murder, rape, and the trafficking of drugs and humans, emphasizing that “every single citizen deserves to be safe.”
Noem’s remarks come after weeks of Trump using federal resources, including the National Guard, to address crime in cities he considers unsafe. In August, he sent troops to Washington, D.C., describing crime there as “out of control.”
On Aug. 11, Trump highlighted other cities with high crime rates, including Chicago, Baltimore, Oakland, Calif., and New York City. On Saturday, he posted on Truth Social criticizing Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker as “weak and pathetic,” saying he should fix crime or “we’re coming.”
In response, Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order on Saturday to prevent militarization in Chicago. The order asks Trump to stop “his threats to deploy the National Guard” in the city.
“I do not take this executive action lightly,” Johnson said during the signing. “I would have preferred to work more collaboratively to pass legislation … but we do not have the luxury of time. We have received credible reports that we have days, not weeks, before our city sees some kind of militarized activity by the federal government.”
Pritzker told Face the Nation that no one from the Trump administration has contacted him or other officials in Chicago about a possible National Guard deployment, which he described as “an invasion.” He said federal agencies should coordinate with local law enforcement.
“But they don’t want to do that either, and I must say, it’s disruptive, it’s dangerous,” Pritzker said. “It tends to inflame passions on the ground when they don’t let us know what their plans are, and when we can’t coordinate with them.”
He added that if Trump sends troops to Chicago, he will challenge it in court.
“Any kind of troops on the streets of an American city don’t belong unless there is an insurrection, unless there is truly an emergency,” he said. “There is not.”
