Noem confirms Chicago ICE expansion after mayor signs executive order

The Trump administration will expand its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Chicago, despite an executive order from the city’s mayor condemning federal intervention in local law enforcement operations. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the administration’s plans during a Sunday interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”

Expanded ICE operations vs. National Guard deployment

“We’ve already had ongoing operations with ICE in Chicago and throughout Illinois and other states, making sure that we’re upholding our laws, but we do intend to add more resources to those operations,” Noem said. 

Moderator Ed O’Keefe asked Noem if the plan would also involve National Guard troops, mirroring similar efforts over the past few months in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Noem declined to elaborate, saying, “That always is a prerogative of President [Donald] Trump and his decision. I won’t speak to the specifics of the operations that are planned in other cities.” 

In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump threatened to mobilize federal forces in Illinois, calling Gov. JB Pritzker “weak and pathetic.”

“Six people were killed, and 24 people were shot, in Chicago last weekend,” the president wrote. “[Pritzker] better straighten it out, FAST, or we’re coming!”

Pritzker pushes back

During his own interview on “Face the Nation” Sunday, Pritzker called the deployment of troops on U.S. streets “un-American.” He also maintained that he still hasn’t been contacted by any Trump administration officials regarding their plans. 

“It’s clear that in secret, they’re planning this –– well, it’s an invasion –– with U.S. troops, if they in fact do that,” Pritzker said. “They ought to let us know when they’re coming, where they’re coming … And I must say, it’s disruptive, it’s dangerous, it tends to inflame passions on the ground when they don’t let us know what their plans are and when we can’t coordinate with them.” 

Chicago’s preemptive action

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order putting several measures in place that would limit local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal troops in the city. In short, the Chicago Police Department will remain a locally controlled law enforcement agency and will not assist with federal patrols, arrests or immigration enforcement.

During a press conference, Johnson said that Chicago officials had received “credible reports” that it has “days, not weeks, before our cities see some type of militarized activity by the federal government.” He added that it’s still “unclear” what a deployment will look like.

In early August, Trump ordered the federal takeover of D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, despite declining crime rates. Trump disputed the numbers and ordered a federal investigation into them. Chicago’s executive order also referenced declining crime rates, including a 30% reduction in homicides and a 35% reduction in robberies.

National Guard troops and Marines were also sent to Los Angeles in June amid protests against ICE raids. Those troops have since been recalled. 

Tensions between Pritzker and Trump heat up

Pritzker and Trump have been exchanging barbs for the past week. In a lengthy X post on Aug. 23, Pritzker accused Trump of “attempting to manufacture a crisis” and “abusing his power to distract from the pain he’s causing families.” He also said that the deployment of the Guard in Chicago “isn’t about safety –– it’s a test of the limits of [Trump’s] power and a trial run for a police state.” 

Then, on Friday, Trump called Chicago a “mess,” adding, “You have an incompetent mayor. Grossly incompetent. And we’ll straighten that one out probably next. That’ll be our next one after [D.C.]. And it won’t even be tough.”

Federal intervention in GOP jurisdictions

To date, Trump’s mobilization of federal forces has exclusively targeted cities and states with Democratic majorities. However, the leaders of those states, including Pritzker and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, have pointed out that crime rates tend to be higher in GOP-led areas. 

Asked on Sunday whether the administration would be intervening in Republican governors’ law enforcement operations, Noem said, “Absolutely.” 

She added, “Every single city is evaluated for what we need to do there to make it safer. So we’ve got operations that, again, I won’t talk about details on, but we absolutely are not looking through the viewpoint at anything we’re doing with a political lens.”