A convention-goer waves a placard at the Republican National Convention, in July 2024. In a second term, Trump has pledged to fulfill his promise and conduct “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.” James West/Mother Jones
President Donald Trump ran his 2024 campaign on a promise to enact mass deportation, and to do so immediately. The Wall Street Journal reports that four people familiar with the plan say the incoming administration is preparing for a large-scale immigration raid to begin in Chicago on Tuesday, and last a week.
The New York Times reports that the plan is called “Operation Safeguard” and will involve about 150 agents. ICE routinely carries out deportations in cities, but the Times noted that “the agency was taking additional steps to ramp up enforcement for the operation and tied it to Mr. Trump’s inauguration in a message sent to personnel throughout the agency.”
Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan specifically identified Chicago as a target at a Northwest Side GOP Club event in December. “We’re going to start right here in Chicago, Illinois. If your Chicago mayor doesn’t want to help, he can step aside,” Homan said. “But if he impedes us—if he knowingly harbors or conceals an illegal alien—I will prosecute him.”
The Chicago Tribune reports that progressive mayor Brandon Johnson has vowed to protect Chicago’s immigrants and its status as a sanctuary city. Immigration advocates across the country have been planning for the incoming administration by expanding know-your-rights trainings, distributing family safety plans, and establishing safe spaces where immigrants can stay during raids.
My colleague Isabela Dias has reported on how Trump’s plans for mass deportation “would permanently change the United States”:
It could lead to racial profiling, the potential separation of families, and the wrongful deportation of Americans and lawful residents. It would also ruin the economy.
The logistical and practical challenges of purging even 1 million people a year are considerable, not to mention the moral and human devastation. But, if realized, a recent analysis by the American Immigration Council found that such a project would cost $967.9 billion over more than a decade. The deportation of immigrant workers who are the backbone of so many critical industries would also break the economy, resulting in an estimated drop of up to 6.8 percent in gross domestic product.
Mass deportation is just one part of Trump’s plan to upend immigration. He has also promised to end birthright citizenship, restore the “Muslim Ban,” attack the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, halt refugee resettlement, and restrict legal immigration.
