ICE to Launch Weeklong Enforcement Surge in Chicago Starting January 18, Officials Say

Operation Homecoming Set for January 18

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to launch a weeklong enforcement surge in Chicago beginning January 18, according to two Border Patrol agents familiar with the operation and a Department of Homeland Security official familiar with the planning. The action, internally designated Operation Homecoming, will involve roughly 550 ICE officers and an unspecified number of state and local law enforcement personnel operating in a support role, the officials said.

The operation will target approximately 1,400 individuals with final removal orders, focusing on immigration violators with pending criminal charges or convictions, the DHS official said. Planning documents circulated January 12 list the Homan Square processing center on West Fillmore Street as the primary staging location, with secondary staging at a field office at 101 West Congress Parkway, according to one of the Border Patrol agents. The documents identify the South Lawndale, Little Village, and Albany Park neighborhoods as priority zones, the agent said.

The surge represents the first large-scale interior enforcement action in Chicago since the city council reaffirmed its sanctuary ordinance in November 2025, the agents said. ICE leadership briefed regional supervisors on the plan during a January 11 conference call that began at 9:30 a.m. Eastern, according to the DHS official. The call included field office directors from Detroit, St. Paul, and Milwaukee, the official said.

One of the Border Patrol agents said the operation has been in development since December 18, 2025, when DHS headquarters requested bed space estimates from facilities within a 200-mile radius of Chicago. The agent said the planning team initially considered Houston and Los Angeles as alternate locations but selected Chicago because of the concentration of targets and available detention capacity.

Sheltering Policies Force Tactical Adjustments

Chicago's Welcoming City Ordinance prohibits city employees from assisting federal immigration enforcement or honoring immigration detainers, a policy that officials expect will force ICE teams to conduct arrests without local jail access or advance notification. The DHS official said agents will rely on administrative warrants and will prioritize targets encountered during traffic stops, workplace inspections, and home visits conducted during early morning hours.

A Texas law enforcement source said personnel from the Texas Department of Public Safety will assist ICE in a training and intelligence capacity, though the source stressed that Texas officers will not make immigration arrests outside their jurisdiction. The Texas contingent is expected to arrive at Chicago Midway International Airport on January 17 aboard a chartered flight departing Austin at 6:45 a.m. Central, the source said. The group will stay at a hotel near the airport, which the source declined to name.

The operation follows a December 2025 directive from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem that ordered ICE field offices to increase daily arrests to 2,000 nationwide, up from an average of 950 in October 2025, according to the DHS official. The Chicago surge is intended to account for roughly 15 percent of that weekly target, the official said. The same directive allocated $47 million in supplemental funding for transportation and detention contracts in the first quarter of 2026, the official said.

One of the Border Patrol agents said ICE attorneys reviewed the operation's target list during a three-hour meeting on January 9 to ensure each individual had a final order of removal issued by an immigration judge. The agent said the list excludes anyone with an active asylum application before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Congressional Notification and Legal Pushback Expected

ICE will notify Congress of the operation through classified channels by January 15, the DHS official said. The official added that the agency has reserved beds at detention facilities in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, and Kankakee County, Illinois, to process those arrested. The contract for the Kankakee facility covers up to 350 beds through March 31, 2026, according to one of the Border Patrol agents. The Kenosha contract adds 220 beds, the agent said.

Advocacy groups said they plan to deploy legal observers to locations near the Homan Square staging area beginning January 18. The National Immigration Forum said in a January 13 statement that it would seek a temporary restraining order if agents conduct arrests outside courthouses or schools. The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois said it had opened a hotline for families and was preparing litigation templates in advance of the operation.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment. A DHS spokesperson declined to confirm specific operational details but said the department would continue to enforce immigration laws. Major outlets including the Associated Press, Reuters, the New York Times, and CNN had not reported the operation as of press time.

Officials said the next 72 hours will bring final logistical briefings and potential adjustments to the target count if weather or intelligence conditions change. Temperatures in Chicago are forecast to fall to 8 degrees Fahrenheit on January 19, raising concerns among agents about outdoor operations and detainee transport, one Border Patrol agent said.