The Trump administration has announced the launch of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crackdown in Illinois, saying the operation would target "criminal illegal aliens" in Chicago, days after President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated meme saying "Chipocalypse Now."
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said "Operation Midway Blitz" aimed at arresting gang members, rapists, kidnappers and drug traffickers.
Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin described those targeted as "the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in Chicago."
Officials cited 11 cases of immigrants, mostly from Mexico and Venezuela, who had prior arrests or convictions for serious crimes and were released from local jails under Illinois’ "sanctuary" laws rather than handed to ICE.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both Democrats, said they received no advance notice of the operation, denouncing it as political theater.
"This isn’t about fighting crime. That requires support and coordination — yet we’ve experienced nothing like that over the past several weeks," Pritzker said on X.
Johnson voiced concern over "potential militarised immigration enforcement without due process," citing ICE’s history of detaining US citizens.
Chicago Alderwoman Jeylu Gutierrez said at least five residents of her southwest-side ward were detained, including a flower vendor at work.
"This was never about arresting the worst of the worst, this is about terrorizing our communities," she told reporters.
Protests broke out across Chicago after the raids.
Thousands marched through downtown streets, with demonstrators accusing Trump of using immigration enforcement as a political weapon ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The operation came after weeks of threats by Trump to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago, a move he has already implemented in Los Angeles and Washington, DC.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: "I want to help the people of Chicago, not hurt them. Only the criminals will be hurt!"
'Chipocalypse Now'
On Saturday, Trump posted an AI-generated meme on his platform depicting the Chicago skyline engulfed in flames with helicopters overhead, referencing the 1979 Vietnam War film Apocalypse Now.
The post, dubbed "Chipocalypse Now", was shared with the message "I love the smell of deportations in the morning…"
Trump in the post warned that people of Chicago will soon realise why the Defence Department’s name was changed to the Department of War.
Meanwhile, DHS confirmed that ICE recently carried out parallel raids in Boston and southeastern Texas, where more than 800 people were arrested.
