ICE plans to increase arrests in major US cities after Trump takes office

Washington — The new Trump administration plans to increase operations arrest unauthorized immigrants Major U.S. cities are targeting “sanctuary” jurisdictions that restrict cooperation with federal immigration officials next week after President-elect Donald Trump takes office, two sources familiar with the plans told CBS News.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation teams are expected to target areas with large immigrant populations, such as the Chicago area, one of the sources said.

ICE officials in the Chicago area recently requested agents to participate in arrest operations after the inauguration without the knowledge of the agency’s senior leadership in Washington, a US official familiar with the matter told CBS News.

Asked by Fox News about a possible ICE operation in Chicago next week — a plan first reported by The Wall Street Journal — the future White House “border czar” Tom Homan said that “there will be a big raid all over the country.”

Trump promised immediately after being sworn in to launch a massive crackdown on illegal immigration, promising to oversee the largest deportation in US history.

The new administration is expected to quickly roll back Biden administration rules that limit who ICE agents can prioritize for arrest and deportation, leaving most of those in the US illegally subject to detention and deportation. Biden-era rules generally limited ICE’s use to serious criminals, recent border crossers and national security threats, largely shielding undocumented immigrants with no criminal history from deportation.

Homan also promised resume large-scale immigration arrests of businesses that illegally hire workers who live in the country, a practice that the Biden administration ended.

While Homan said the new administration would still prioritize unauthorized immigrants with criminal records for arrest, he emphasized that no one in the country illegally would be exempt from immigration enforcement. If ICE agents find unauthorized immigrants who are not criminals during an operation, they can be arrested through what’s known as a “collateral arrest,” Homan said.