Border czar Tom Homan said people should “absolutely” expect federal action in Chicago this week and “in most sanctuary cities” across the country.
President Donald Trump has teased sending federal troops to Illinois’s biggest city, and has traded barbs with Gov. JD Pritzker (D-IL) over the idea, since early August after announcing the federal takeover of Washington, D.C.
This weekend, Trump posted on Truth Social, threatening to use the newly rebranded Department of War against Chicago. In an allusion to the Vietnam War movie Apocalypse Now, he posted an AI-generated photo of himself in front of the city with helicopters circling, saying he loves “the smell of deportations in the morning,” referencing the quote “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”
Homan told CNN’s Jake Tapper on State of the Union that the National Guard is “always on the table” as a “force multiplier” and that people should expect increased immigration enforcement in sanctuary cities.
“We’ve got to send additional resources to the problem areas, which are sanctuary cities,” Homan said in an interview with Tapper.
In a White House Rose Garden event on Friday, Trump denounced the high crime in Chicago and touted the reduction in Washington crime rates since the federal takeover, saying, “We’re going to make Chicago look like this.”
Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have each been promoting immigration-related resources for Chicagoans ahead of any impending federal immigration crackdown. The Chicago Office of Immigrant, Migrant, and Refugee Rights launched an updated website this week “designed specifically for immigrant and refugee communities,” a city press release reads.
Pritzker posted on X on Saturday, “Know your rights, Illinois,” with an infographic that reads “Everyone has constitutional rights regardless of immigration status!”
DC NATIONAL GUARD TROOP DEPLOYMENT EXTENDED THROUGH DECEMBER
Trump announced on Friday the first red state sanctuary city he would be sending federal officers to, touting a forthcoming deployment to New Orleans after teasing the move earlier last week. New Orleans is one of 22 sanctuary cities and counties across the country.
These cities, along with 13 states, including Washington, D.C., have laws that limit local officials from fully cooperating with federal immigration enforcement agents. Chicago and the entire state of Illinois are sanctuary jurisdictions.
