Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning a to conduct a major enforcement operation in at least one U.S. city for several days after the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, a document acquired by NBC News said.
According to the document, it was unclear which immigrants would be targeted in the operation.
The document said a briefing for agents who plan to participate in the operation was held in at least one city Friday afternoon.
ICE officials referred NBC News to the Trump transition team for comment. The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Before the document was reviewed by NBC News, several sources familiar with the planning said possible targets for early enforcement include Chicago, the Washington, D.C. area, Los Angeles, Denver and Philadelphia.
The office of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said his administration is conducting “tabletop exercises” with various city departments in preparation for any potential action.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office referred NBC Chicago to comments made at a press conference last month:
“Anybody that’s here in this country legally, I’m obligated to protect them just as I would anybody else. The third group is people who are undocumented, and let me be clear up front, violent criminals who are undocumented and convicted of violent crime should be deported. I do not want them in my state and I do not think they should be in the United States. But there are an awful lot of people who’ve lived here, and I think that we run into them every day, who have lived here for decades who are undocumented for a variety of reasons. They’re here legally and they’re holding down jobs, and they’re paying taxes that they don’t get any benefit from, and I believe it is my obligation to protect them too. I know that you want to ask the question about the clash that might exist, but to be clear we have laws that protect people that are undocumented, migrants, and undocumented migrants. I am going to make sure to follow the law. I am concerned that the Trump administration and his lackeys aren’t going to follow the law. But I will.”
There was no further information available.
