(The Center Square) – Immigration and Customs Enforcement efforts are expected to increase in Chicago as the Trump administration continues to focus on deporting illegal aliens.
At an unrelated event in Canada, President Donald Trump was asked about targeting certain cities for immigration enforcement.
“The focus on the cities, because the cities are where you have really what’s called sanctuary cities and that’s where the people are,” Trump told reporters. “I look at Chicago.”
Trump called Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker “probably the worst” governor in the country.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement efforts are expected to increase in Chicago as the Trump administration continues to focus on deporting illegal aliens.
In Chicago after signing the state budget, Pritzker said he fully expects the city to see increased immigration enforcement.
“I don’t know exactly how big the force will be but I do know that he has used other law enforcement along with ICE to carry out his, you know, ill-conceived mission to go after people who frankly are paying taxes, and are law abiding, and they’ve been here many, many years,” Pritzker said. “I think those are the wrong people to go after.”
Pritzker said Trump should focus immigration enforcement efforts only on illegal aliens convicted of violent crimes.
Trump said he’s focusing immigration enforcement efforts in cities run by Democrats, including Chicago.
“Most of those people are in the cities, all blue cities,” Trump said. “All Democrat-run cities. And they think they’re going to use them to vote. It’s not going to happen.”
Pritzker said he isn’t sure Trump would utilize the National Guard as he did in Los Angeles earlier this month to protect federal property from rioters.
“I think what he’s done in California has really hurt him politically, and so I don’t think that he’ll do it in other places, but we know that ICE is coming once again in force,” Pritzker said.
Last week, Pritzker testified in front of a U.S. House committee, defending Illinois’ migrant sanctuary policies that prohibit state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration officials.
This article was originally published at www.thecentersquare.com
