CHICAGO — After much speculation and teasing by President Donald Trump, the Department of Homeland Security said it is launching Operation Midway Blitz, a new initiative targeting undocumented immigrants who commit crimes across Chicago and Illinois.
The DHS said a social media post on Sept. 8 the operation is in honor of Katie Abraham, a 20-year-old woman from one of Chicago’s northwest suburbs who was killed in a hit-and-run crash in January by Julio Cucul Bol, a 29-year-old Guatemalan national who is in the United States illegally.
DHS said the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation will target people in the country illegally who commit crimes and "flocked to Chicago and Illinois." Hundreds of Homeland Security officials are expected to operate from a naval base outside Chicago.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement the operation will go after "the worst of the worst," accusing Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and other local politicians for releasing gang members, rapists, kidnappers and drug traffickers that put lives at risk.
"President Trump and Secretary Noem have a clear message: no city is a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens," McLaughlin said. "If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will hunt you down, arrest you, deport you, and you will never return.”
