Illinois Governor Warns of Increased ICE Operations in Chicago Amid Supreme Court Ruling

Operation Midway Blitz, a large-scale immigration enforcement campaign conducted by ICE, has been launched in Chicago under President Donald Trump's administration, deploying over 200 agents and more than 100 vehicles. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and local leaders have expressed deep concern, warning that the operation has instilled fear in immigrant communities, with residents hesitant to leave their homes or go about daily activities. Pritzker criticized the Trump administration's approach as targeting Chicago because of its sanctuary policies and described the federal agents' actions as having "terrible plans" that threaten community safety. U.S. Representative Brad Schneider condemned the operation as an expansion of authoritarian powers aimed at intimidating communities, accusing the administration of politicizing law enforcement rather than addressing crime effectively. The operation follows a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows federal agents to question people about their immigration status without restrictions based solely on ethnicity, raising fears of racial profiling. The Department of Homeland Security justified the operation by emphasizing the presence of dangerous criminal illegal aliens allegedly released due to sanctuary policies, while Pritzker and his office maintain that the federal crackdown is more about political posturing than genuine crime reduction efforts.