The Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Midway Blitz on Monday to combat the influx of illegal immigration Chicago has seen under Democratic Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.
DHS said that the program was created in honor of Katie Abraham, a college student who was struck and killed by a Guatemalan national in a drunk driving hit-and-run accident in Illinois.
“DHS is launching Operation Midway Blitz in honor of Katie Abraham who was killed in Illinois by a criminal illegal alien who should have never been in our country. This operation will target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in Chicago,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “For years, Governor Pritzker and his fellow sanctuary politicians released Tren de Aragua gang members, rapists, kidnappers, and drug traffickers on Chicago’s streets — putting American lives at risk and making Chicago a magnet for criminals.”
Illinois first became a sanctuary state in 2017 when the TRUST Act was passed, in which local law enforcement is prohibited from cooperating with federal immigration agents to deport illegal immigrants in the state.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also signed an executive order last week declaring that Chicago police would not cooperate with ICE agents. The order also requires officers to wear uniforms and keep their faces visible to “clearly distinguish them from federal agents.”
“We will not have our police officers who are working hard every single day to drive down crime deputized to do traffic stops and checkpoints for the president,” Johnson said before signing the order.
Stats from 2023 alone reveal that there are at least 628,000 illegal immigrants in Illinois currently, costing tax payers $3 billion per year.
“President Trump and Secretary Noem have a clear message: no city is a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens,” McLaughline 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.”
The operation is not a full-blown invasion of Illinois, as President Donald Trump has recently touted, but rather a targeted mission surrounding the illegal immigrants flocking Illinois towns and cities.
“President Trump and Secretary Noem stand with the victims of illegal alien crime while Governor Pritzker stands with criminal illegal aliens,” DHS said in a post on X.
Operation Midway Blitz is the most recent DHS initiative in honor of Abraham, following a video released mid-August to bring awareness to her story.
“Katie Abraham’s death was a preventable tragedy. Republicans are working with the Administration to ensure other families don’t have to endure the same pain,” Representative Darin LaHood said in a social media post. “Illegal immigrants will be deported, criminals will be held accountable.”
Trump is still considering deploying the National Guard to Chicago, and is hoping for an invitation from Pritzker and Johnson.
“We’d love to go into Chicago,” Trump said in a speech in Washington D.C. Monday morning. “We’re waiting for a call from Chicago.”
As of last week, Pritzker still maintains his defiance toward any possible National Guard deployment to Illinois.