WASHINGTON: United States (US) immigration authorities will carry out mass arrests of illegal and undocumented immigrants across the country, briefly after President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office.
Yesterday, President-elect Donald Trump promised to sign a blitz of executive orders on his first day as president to launch mass deportation operations.
The move would be among the first by Republican Trump, who returns to the White House on Monday, to act unilaterally on a wide array of issues.
“We put America first and it all starts tomorrow,” he told the crowd at the campaign-style event, adding: “You’re going to have a lot of fun watching television tomorrow.”
Trump is expected to sign more than 200 executive actions after taking oath today.
Trump’s first move
Trump’s newly appointed “border czar,” Tom Homan, confirmed the plan in an interview with Fox News on Friday. The remarks followed reports from the Wall Street Journal and other outlets about a planned immigration raid in Chicago starting Tuesday.
“There’s going to be a big raid across the country. Chicago is just one of many places,” said Homan, a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He previously oversaw policies, including the controversial separation of migrant families, during Trump’s first term.
Homan stated ICE would prioritize public safety threats but warned that “no one is off the table.” He added, “If they’re in the country illegally, they got a problem.”
The Wall Street Journal reported the Chicago raid would involve 100 to 200 ICE officers and could last all week.
Chicago police spokesman Don Terry told the New York Times the department would not intervene or assist federal agents. He emphasized that Chicago police do not document immigration status or share information with ICE.
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But he said the department “does not document immigration status” and “will not share information with federal immigration authorities.”
Midwestern Chicago is one of several Democrat-led US cities that have declared themselves “sanctuaries” for migrants — meaning they will not be arrested solely for not having legal immigrant status.
