Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made clear Sunday that the Biden administration’s immigration enforcement strategy is widening, and that major American cities—including Chicago—are next in line. Appearing on CBS’s Face the Nation, Noem said “we haven’t taken anything off the table” when it comes to expanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations across the country.
While she wouldn’t offer specifics, she emphasized that federal officers would continue to target “the worst of the worst,” in line with President Trump’s direction.
Her comments followed reporting from CBS News that ICE is preparing to ramp up activity in Chicago in the coming days, mirroring the controversial sweep conducted in Los Angeles earlier this year. Noem acknowledged that ICE has already been conducting “ongoing operations” in Illinois and elsewhere but said more resources are on the way.
That expansion comes as Trump has sharpened his focus on crime in the nation’s major cities, intervening directly in ways not seen in decades. Earlier this month, the president federalized Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department and deployed the National Guard to the capital. He has also teased broader efforts in other cities, raising fears among local leaders of escalating federal involvement.
When asked whether National Guard troops would accompany immigration enforcement operations in Chicago—as they did in Los Angeles—Noem deferred to Trump. “That always is a prerogative of President Trump and his decision,” she said.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker was quick to push back. In an earlier interview with Face the Nation, he accused Noem of “inflaming passions and causing disruption that doesn’t need to be caused” with enforcement measures he labeled “dangerous” and “un-American.” Pritzker argued that long-term residents, taxpayers, and community members are being swept up by raids. “They’re law-abiding members of our communities, friends, neighbors,” he said. “Why are we arresting them? Why are we making them disappear?”
Pritzker also warned that uncoordinated federal operations could undercut the city’s progress in reducing violence. Noem, in turn, argued that even a single murder should be reason enough for Chicago leaders to seek federal assistance. “What’s your ideas? What can we do?” she suggested should be their question to the White House.
Still, Noem insisted the administration is not picking cities along partisan lines. “Every single city is evaluated for what we need to do there to make it safer,” she said. “We absolutely are not looking…through a political lens.”
For now, Chicago appears next on that list, with the standoff between federal officials and local leaders only beginning to take shape.
