The Trump administration has escalated its confrontation with sanctuary cities by launching targeted immigration enforcement operations in Chicago and Massachusetts and signaling plans for broader action nationwide.
The Department of Homeland Security said it has begun an operation in Chicago, dubbed Operation Midway Blitz, that will focus on undocumented immigrants with criminal records, and announced plans for Patriot 2.0 in Massachusetts intended to increase deportations in that state. Border czar Tom Homan told CNN over the weekend, "You can expect action in most sanctuary cities across the country," indicating further enforcement activity could follow this week.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said the Chicago operation will "target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in Chicago," and singled out Illinois' sanctuary policies as attracting such individuals. ICE Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the operation is aimed at those "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." Local officials said there were no reports of mass arrests as of Monday morning.
DHS announced Patriot 2.0 in Massachusetts over the weekend, without offering broad operational details, saying the campaign follows "the success of Operation Patriot in May," which the acting director of ICE, Todd Lyons, said led to about 1,500 arrests. A DHS spokesperson said in a statement, "Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, nowhere 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 statement criticized Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, alleging sanctuary policies "attract and harbor criminals."
The moves come amid sharp pushback from city and state officials who have sought to limit local cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an order over the weekend directing local law enforcement and officials not to cooperate with federal agents and announced an initiative to protect residents' rights. After the ICE operation was announced, the suburban city of Evanston issued a statement warning residents of impending raids and urging them to report sightings of federal agents.
Boston officials have vowed to defend local law and to restrict local participation in federal immigration enforcement. Mayor Wu said in a statement that "no Boston police or local resources will be co-opted into federal immigration enforcement and their mass deportation agenda," and she pledged legal challenges to any federal actions that cross legal lines. The Boston Trust Act, first adopted in 2014 and amended in 2019, restricts local cooperation with ICE on civil immigration matters while allowing collaboration on issues deemed "significant public safety," including human trafficking, child exploitation, drug and weapons trafficking, and cybercrimes.
The Justice Department sued Boston earlier this month, arguing that local sanctuary policies obstruct the federal government from enforcing immigration laws. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the city and its mayor "have been among the worst sanctuary offenders in America" and accused Boston of "explicitly enforce[ing] policies designed to undermine law enforcement and protect illegal aliens from justice." Mayor Wu responded at the time, saying the city would defend its laws and "We will not yield."
President Trump amplified the rhetoric over the weekend with a post on Truth Social in which he wrote, "I love the smell of deportations in the morning ... Chicago is about to find out why it’s called the Department of War." He later sought to soften that language, saying Monday, "We’re not going to war, we’re going to clean up our cities," and framing the actions as aimed at reducing violent crime.
The administration's previous efforts to pressure sanctuary jurisdictions have faced legal and political setbacks. Courts have blocked attempts by earlier administrations to withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities and have, in some instances, upheld municipal policies limiting local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Legal experts say those precedents are likely to shape forthcoming challenges to the current operations and any broader enforcement strategy.
Federal officials have provided limited public detail about the specific scope and targets of the latest operations, and local authorities said they were monitoring the situation while preparing to deploy legal and administrative responses. The enforcement actions and the anticipated wider campaign come as the administration renews its emphasis on immigration enforcement and public safety ahead of the fall political cycle, setting up a likely legal and political clash between federal authorities and sanctuary jurisdictions across the country.