Massive immigration raids to detain and deport undocumented migrants are set to commence on the first full day of Donald Trump’s presidency, according to reports from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. These operations, led by Trump’s “border tsar,” Tom Homan, could begin as early as Tuesday in Chicago, a city with a substantial migrant population.
President Trump has vowed to implement the largest deportation program in U.S. history. Speaking with Fox News earlier this week, Homan declared plans for a “big raid” nationwide, emphasizing Chicago as “ground zero” for the initiative. “January 21st, you’re going to look for a lot of ICE agents in your city looking for criminals and gang members,” Homan stated at a Republican event in Chicago last month. “Count on it. It will happen.”
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, which routinely deports undocumented migrants, is expected to focus its efforts on sanctuary cities—jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. In addition to Chicago, cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Denver, and Miami are likely targets, according to unnamed sources cited by the Wall Street Journal.
During Joe Biden’s administration, ICE prioritized the deportation of undocumented migrants who were serious criminals, recent border crossers, or national security threats. However, under Trump’s directive, the focus will broaden to include all undocumented individuals, including those with no criminal record who have lived and worked in the U.S. for years. Workplace raids at construction sites, discontinued under Biden, are also expected to resume, CBS News reports.
The hardline shift in immigration policy has already sparked fear among migrant communities. Sarait Martinez, executive director of the Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño, which supports Mexican farmworkers in California, told Reuters, “The administration is not yet sworn in, but people are already afraid.” Many migrant farmworkers are now seeking advice on handling ICE encounters and arranging temporary guardianship for their children.
There are also reports that longstanding policies protecting churches from ICE arrests may be overturned. The anticipated raids, however, may face logistical challenges, including limited detention space for those apprehended.
Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers are expected to pass the Laken Riley Act next week, a bill requiring federal authorities to detain undocumented migrants suspected of criminal activity, even if no charges are filed. The legislation is named after a Georgia college student who was murdered last year by a Venezuelan man with a prior arrest for shoplifting.
As the Trump administration prepares to roll out its immigration crackdown, cities across the U.S. brace for what could be a dramatic escalation in deportations.
