According to a memo seen by NBC News and a source familiar with the planning, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are preparing a significant enforcement operation that will target immigrants for several days after Donald Trump is sworn in as president.
Multiple venues throughout Chicago would be targeted, according to the source, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not allowed to discuss the operation.
The memo stated that although the dates might alter, the operation was anticipated to begin as early as Tuesday and conclude by the following Monday.
However, two people with knowledge of the plans claim that media disclosures have caused the planned operation to be delayed.
The sources stressed on Sunday that ICE is still targeting the individuals who would have been arrested as part of the operation and that the operation has not been canceled. However, they stated that mass deportations will not start in Chicago alone.
The Trump transition team did not reply when NBC News was forwarded to them by ICE officials on Friday for comment.
Trump refused to discuss any specifics of the operation in an exclusive interview with NBC News Kristen Welker on Saturday, but he did state that large deportations would start very early and swiftly.
“We’re ready and it’s going to start,” he stated. The criminals who have entered our nation illegally must be removed.
According to the letter, a briefing for agents who would be involved in Operation Safeguard was set for Friday afternoon in Chicago. Additionally, it states that more agents than needed have offered and that the operation would involve agents who were asked to volunteer.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the operation is anticipated to take place in Chicago.
It is also feasible to do operations in other cities. Major metropolitan regions that might see early enforcement proceedings include the Washington, D.C., area, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Denver, and Chicago, according to multiple sources familiar with the strategy before NBC News obtained the memo.
Trump pledged during his campaign to carry out the biggest deportation operation in American history. The precise number of undocumented migrants in the United States now is uncertain, while a 2022 official estimate put the figure as high as 11 million.
According to the pro-immigration American Immigration Council, deporting them all might cost at least $315 billion. Experts have cautioned that mass deportations may raise the cost of certain American goods in addition to the expenses.According to estimates from the federal government, 40% of agricultural laborers are unauthorized immigrants.
With a $230 million budget deficit, ICE lacks the resources to implement Trump’s promises extensively and for an extended period of time. First, Congress needs to approve more money for detention centers and enforcement activities.
Before being deported, migrants are detained after being arrested. There aren’t any beds available in ICE’s Chicago detention facilities right now, according to their website.
Trump’s new border czar, Tom Homan, has stated that he wants at least 100,000 detention beds nationwide; at the moment, there are about 34,000. Additionally, in fiscal 2019, there were 267,000 deportations, the most in a single year during Trump’s first term.
Compared to the first Trump administration throughout his first term, the Biden administration deported more people each year. In fiscal year 2013, during the Obama administration, the most number of individuals deported from the United States in a single year was 438,000.
There will probably be political opposition to Trump’s apparent plans to target communities that are controlled by Democrats. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said Friday that he will defend migrants who are arrested illegally in response to concerns that the Trump government may begin deportation operations in Chicago.
According to Pritzker, we have laws that protect those without documentation. I’ll be careful to abide by the law. I fear that the Trump administration and his cronies will not uphold the law.
Homan has stated to NBC News that the new government is prepared to shoulder the financial burden and political battle associated with mass deportations. Mass deportation and its effects, in my opinion, are more crucial for this nation than anything else, he stated. Our national security has no value in my opinion.