Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is looking at using a naval base north of Chicago as an operations center to step up immigration enforcement and possibly national guard troops that President Trump can use to crack down on crime in the city.
BOOM 💥
— @Chicago1Ray 🇺🇸 (@Chicago1Ray) August 28, 2025
Chicago Sun Times reports that the Great Lakes Naval Base in North Chgo is getting ready to house ICE agts and possible National Guard troops as soon as next week
It worked in D.C and it'll work in Chicago too
This is what I voted for... my vote counted 👍 pic.twitter.com/uJ822sBPK4
Border Czar, Tom Homan, told reporters that “The planning is still being discussed.”
Trump has his sights on Chicago, warning it will face immigration enforcement despite its “sanctuary city” status and could be the next target in his crime crackdown. Earlier this year, his administration sued Illinois and Chicago, claiming their laws blocked federal immigration enforcement, but a judge threw the case out in July. The Trump administration has also sued other Democrat-run cities, including New York, Los Angeles, and Rochester, N.Y., as part of a broader push to force local authorities to back Trump’s aggressive deportation agenda.
The President also deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles in late June to stop riots, and to Washington, D.C., earlier this month to push down crime in the capital. Democrats blasted the moves, but soon after, riots in LA and crime in D.C. dropped sharply.
Homan said a significant amount of resources would be sent to the base, but would not tell reporters how they’d be used or whether National Guard troops would operate there, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson opposed the move, citing a 21 percent drop in crime since the beginning of the year. However, Chicago's crime rate remains significantly higher than the national average.
CNN tried to get a Chicago resident to say that Chicago is safe, crime is down, and they don’t need Trump to send the national guard, but it didn’t go as planned…
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 26, 2025
Reporter: "Crime has dropped since 2024. Do you feel like the city feels safer?"
Resident: "No, not at all." pic.twitter.com/Y74SrqoDxe
ICE “Operations are ramping up across the country, but you could see a ramp up of operations in Chicago, absolutely,” Homan said. “You’re going to see a ramp up of operations in New York; you’re going to see a ramp up of operations continue in L.A., Portland, Seattle, all these sanctuary cities that refuse to work with ICE."
Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan tells me immigration enforcement operations will “absolutely” ramp up after Labor Day in blue cities like Chicago, NYC, Seattle, and Portland. pic.twitter.com/swTUcUHdIk
— Libbey Dean (@LibbeyDean_) August 28, 2025
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker vowed to challenge federal efforts to bring National Guard troops into Chicago, saying, "The state of Illinois is ready to stand against this military deployment with every peaceful tool we have."