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President Donald Trump said Tuesday that violent crime in Chicago has fallen sharply since the start of a federal crackdown known as “Operation Midway Blitz,” crediting the Department of Homeland Security-led effort with driving shootings and robberies down across the Windy City.
The president’s Truth Social post claimed that shootings are down 35%, robberies down 41% and carjackings nearly 50% since the operation began several weeks ago.
“This has been achieved despite the extraordinary resistance from Chicago and Illinois Radical Democrat leadership,” Trump wrote.
The post marks the president’s first public update on the initiative since late October, when DHS confirmed nine arrests, including three illegal immigrants, following what officials described as “one of the most violent days” of the operation.
DHS ‘BLITZES’ CHICAGOLAND, NETTING ‘MANY ARRESTS’ AS NOEM ONSITE FOR IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN
President Trump posted to Truth Social Tuesday about the positive progress in Chicago against crime thanks to operation “Midway Blitz.” (Craig Hudson/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
According to DHS statements obtained by Digital, agents faced multiple assaults and vehicle rammings during coordinated Oct. 22 raids in the Chicago suburbs of Cicero and Glendale Heights.
DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin called it “one of the most violent days we’ve had,” confirming that one agent was injured and several patrol units were damaged. The raids targeted violent offenders and previously deported foreign nationals with criminal records.
The operation’s namesake honors Katie Abraham, a Chicago-area resident killed in September in a hit-and-run involving a suspected illegal immigrant.
DHS MARKS ‘ONE OF THE MOST VIOLENT DAYS’ OF OPERATION MIDWAY BLITZ WITH SEVERAL ARRESTS
While President Trump didn’t name Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson personally, the Illinois Democrat has been vehemently against reforms imposed by the Trump administration in the Windy City. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo)
“Midway Blitz,” launched in September, is part of a broader DHS initiative aimed at “criminal illegal aliens terrorizing Americans in sanctuary Illinois,” according to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who said suspects who attacked agents “will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Trump’s post also reignited tensions with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both of whom have previously opposed large-scale immigration raids. The president accused them of obstructing enforcement and “encouraging violent resistance against ICE officers.”
HUNDREDS OF FEDERAL AGENTS IN CHICAGO CARRY OUT OPERATION TARGETING SUSPECTED TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBERS
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has put President Donald Trump in his proverbial crosshairs before on social media as well. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Trump said the next phase of “Midway Blitz” will include a “full surge” of federal agents in Chicago and Memphis, claiming the first wave has already delivered measurable results.
“As we ramp up more assets, these numbers will continue to drop,” he wrote Tuesday.
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The Illinois governor’s office and the Chicago mayor’s office did not immediately respond to Digital’s requests for comment. The White House directed Digital back to the President’s comments on Truth Social.
Digital’s Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
