The Department of Homeland Security’s surge to arrest and deport illegal immigrants in Chicago has led to a “historic” drop in major crimes over the past two months, the department said Wednesday.
Reports of homicides, shootings and robberies are all down significantly, and carjackings have dropped nearly 50% since the start in early September of what the department labeled Operation Midway Blitz.
DHS called those numbers “a historic win.”
“For decades, sanctuary policies exacerbated the crime crisis in Chicago. Now, thanks to our brave DHS law enforcement, Chicago is experiencing a historic drop in violent crime,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “It’s common sense — when you remove the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from our country — crime rates plummet.”
The department specifically called out Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, saying the enforcement surge delivered results by undercutting their sanctuary policies.
Mr. Pritzker, on social media, responded by calling President Trump “a liar.”
“He cannot steal credit from our violence prevention and law enforcement efforts that have reduced crime for four years straight — long before his masked agents showed up,” said the governor, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate.
Mr. Johnson’s office also said Chicago was already seeing a major drop in crime before the immigration enforcement surge.
The mayor said it was a “slap in the face” of city police for the feds to claim credit.
Homeland Security didn’t provide the data it used for its calculations and didn’t respond to an inquiry seeking those numbers.
Chicago’s own public crime data suggests different outcomes over the last two months.
Chicago Police Department statistics show the murder rate ran 30% below 2024 levels as of Sept. 7. By Nov. 9, the latest data available, that had dipped to 29% below 2024 levels, suggesting a slight deterioration over the first two months of Operation Midway Blitz.
Criminal sexual assaults, burglaries and motor vehicle theft also moved in the wrong direction, while the robbery rate improved. Aggravated battery rates remained steady over the period.
Chicago has become the focal point for the battle over immigration policy and the tactics that Mr. Trump’s team is using to boost its arrest and deportation numbers.
That includes unruly anti-ICE demonstrations and harsh riot control tactics used by the government in response.
Three federal judges have intervened to constrain the administration. One has ordered improved conditions at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility, one has told the government to limit use of tear gas and other riot control methods, and the third has blocked Mr. Trump from deploying National Guard troops.
The Supreme Court is weighing the troop issue right now.
Trump opponents say the federal enforcement surge has crossed constitutional and moral lines.
Mr. Johnson has declared city property to be “ICE-free zones” and urged businesses and residents to resist cooperation with the enforcement surge.
Administration officials say the mayor and Mr. Pritzker, in defending sanctuary policies, are protecting criminals.
To bolster that argument, DHS has regularly released lists of arrestees with serious records.
On Wednesday, they cited the arrest of Luis Chavez, whom they said was a member of the Latin Kings gang, had been deported to Mexico and had burglary, weapons and DUI convictions and drug charges on his record; Carlos Barrera-Vega, from Mexico, a member of the U-Boys street gang with convictions for predatory criminal sex assault and burglary; and Yasmin Buari, who the department said is from Ghana, overstayed her visa by 13 years, and had convictions of assault with a deadly weapon, robbery and aggravated battery of a peace officer.