Trump Administration Reviews Leaked Plans for Chicago Immigration Raids

CHICAGO, Ill. — President-elect Donald Trump‘s plans to launch a major immigration raid in Chicago next week are under review after details of the operation were leaked to the press, according to incoming border czar Tom Homan. The raids, initially set to begin Tuesday, January 21, were intended to target undocumented immigrants with criminal backgrounds, including those with minor offenses.

The Associated Press reported on Saturday that federal immigration officers planned to deploy between 100 and 200 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for the operation. The raids were expected to last through the following Monday, marking one of the first major actions of Trump’s administration. However, the leak has prompted a reassessment of the plan.

“We’re reviewing any plans in Chicago because of the leak,” Homan told ABC News on Saturday. “When the president gets sworn in, ICE officers are going to have a new priority of seeking out those who are considered a public safety threat and a national security threat.”

Trump, who has made immigration enforcement a cornerstone of his campaign, hinted at the raids in an earlier interview with ABC News. “It’s a priority that we get the criminals out of our country,” he said. “And it is for everybody else—it’s one of the reasons I won the election by such a big margin. And it is a priority.”

Chicago, a sanctuary city, limits cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The city’s Welcoming City Ordinance prohibits local law enforcement from documenting immigration status or sharing information with ICE. A spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department reiterated this stance in a statement to ABC 7, saying, “CPD does not document immigration status, and in accordance with the ordinance, does not share information with federal immigration authorities.”

Brandon Lee, spokesperson for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, expressed concern over the potential raids. “The reality is that, I think there has been a level of fear since Election Day,” Lee told The Associated Press. “We were always operating as if Trump was going to target Chicago and Illinois early in his administration.”

As Trump prepares to be sworn in on Monday, January 20, it remains unclear whether the raids will proceed as planned. A spokesperson for ICE told Newsweek that any information “concerning activities which may take place after the inauguration” must be referred to the incoming administration.