US immigration authorities are set to carry out mass arrests of undocumented immigrants across the country on Tuesday, according to a senior border official in Donald Trump’s incoming administration.
The planned operation would mark one of the first major actions by Republican Donald Trump, who returns to the White House on Monday, in his effort to fulfill a campaign promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants from the United States.
Tom Homan, Trump’s newly appointed "border czar," confirmed the operation during an interview with Fox News on Friday.
His comments followed reports from the Wall Street Journal and other outlets detailing an "immigration raid" scheduled to begin in Chicago on Tuesday.
“There’s going to be a big raid across the country. Chicago is just one of many places,” Homan stated.
A former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homan previously oversaw the controversial policy that separated migrant families at the border during Trump’s first term.
“On Tuesday, ICE is finally going to go out and do their job. We’re going to take the handcuffs off ICE and let them arrest criminal aliens,” he said. “ICE will enforce immigration law unapologetically. They’ll focus on public safety threats first, but no one is off the table. If you’re in the country illegally, you’ve got a problem.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that the large-scale immigration operation in Chicago would start on Tuesday, a day after Trump’s inauguration, and last the entire week.
It is expected to involve 100 to 200 ICE officers, according to unnamed sources familiar with the plans.
Chicago police spokesman Don Terry told the New York Times that the department would not “intervene or interfere with any other government agencies performing their duties.”
However, he clarified that Chicago police “do not document immigration status” and “will not share information with federal immigration authorities.”
Chicago is one of several Democratic-led cities in the US that have declared themselves "sanctuaries" for migrants, meaning local authorities do not arrest individuals solely for lacking legal immigration status.
