The Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Midway Blitz on Monday to start detaining illegal immigrants in Chicago and Illinois after Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) repeatedly refused to cooperate with the Trump administration’s crime crackdown.
DHS announced the operation on social media, revealing it was “in honor” of Katie Abraham, 20, who died in a hit-and-run car crash caused by a Guatemalan national illegally residing in the United States.
“This ICE operation will target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they knew Governor Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets,” the department said.
The Washington Examiner contacted DHS for additional information.
“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,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
“President Trump and Secretary Noem have a clear message: no city is a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens. 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 announcement featured an interview with Abraham’s parents, both of whom denounced illegal immigration based on their personal experience. Abraham died in January when Julio Cucul-Bol hit her with his vehicle and fled.
The father said his daughter’s killer shouldn’t have been admitted into the U.S. in the first place.
“To me, these are not the productive folks we want to bring into the country,” Joe Abraham said. “You want to build the country on migrants? Probably not the guy you want to stand behind.”
They pushed back against claims that the Trump administration is not giving illegal immigrants due process, saying their daughter did not get that right.
“Why do these people who break these laws, who are not U.S. citizens deserve due process?” asked Michelle Abraham, the mother. “Because again, Katie got nothing. She got death.”
Days after the deadly crash in Illinois, Cucul-Bol was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service about an hour south of Dallas, Texas. He used a false name, a crime for which he was charged by the Department of Justice for in May.
Ever since President Donald Trump teased that Chicago would be one of the cities after Washington, D.C., to see federal pressure on violent crime and illegal immigration, Pritzker vowed to oppose the effort. Trump fired back, most recently posting an AI-generated, Apocalypse Now-inspired meme depicting a squadron of helicopters en route to Chicago.
TRUMP INTENSIFIES WAR WITH PRITZKER AS CHICAGO AWAITS IMMINENT DECISION ON FEDERAL TAKEOVER
Operation Midway Blitz appears to be solely related to immigration enforcement rather than a full-blown policing mission, as Trump said Monday morning, he was “waiting for a call from Chicago” for armed troops and agents to enter the city.
The president previously indicated he would like Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to invite federal assistance to the Windy City, even though they have condemned Trump’s threats.
