Blitzing Chicago. The administration redoubled its efforts to arrest unauthorized immigrants, as Immigration and Customs Enforcement surged deportation officers to Illinois, kicking off a massive operation to find people who had been protected by the state’s sanctuary laws.
Department of Homeland Security officials call it “Operation Midway Blitz” and said it’s meant to counter “criminal illegal aliens” who have moved to Chicago to take advantage of its refusal to turn migrants over to ICE.
Department officials called out Mr. Pritzker for defending sanctuary policies.
The new effort began just after the Supreme Court issued a ruling giving tacit approval to ICE’s aggressive tactics in Los Angeles, the first city to see a prolonged deportation push, which started in June. The justices said ICE can target people for brief investigative stops based on circumstances that include their ethnicity, language, job and where they congregate — as long as all of the factors are taken together.
That approach can carry over to other cities, too. Homeland Security said the Chicago operation is being conducted to “honor” Katie Abraham, a 20-year-old woman killed in January in a hit-and-run crash. Authorities blamed the crash on an illegal immigrant.
Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, denounced the ICE deployment, saying he expected it to “arrest hardworking immigrants with no criminal convictions.”
“These actions don’t make us safer. They are a waste of money, stoke fear and represent another failed attempt at a distraction,” he said.
The L.A. case addresses the heart of how and when immigration officers can approach suspects. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the ruling would reverberate nationwide, affecting “every person in every city.”
“This decision will lead to more working families being torn apart and fear of the very institutions meant to protect — not persecute — our people,” she said.
Homeland Security said immigration agents will enter schools to make arrests in only “extremely rare” circumstances and not to target children, as the department sought to push back on a rash of news reports suggesting some kids are avoiding their classrooms.
The victims of illegal immigration are receiving heightened attention through a new video called the American Border Story. It highlights the stories of people such as Brandon Mendoza, a police officer in Mesa, Arizona, who was killed in a car crash caused by a drunken illegal immigrant in 2014.
Mendoza’s mother, Mary Ann, founded Angel Families for victims. The group has become a compelling voice in the debate over immigration policy, offering an alternative perspective to the tearjerker stories of hardworking illegal immigrant farm-workers, housecleaners or schoolchildren with their own powerful stories of loss.
“Think about losing one of your children in the way that I did. Your child is just ripped out of your life in the blink of an eye,” she said. “I’m warning you, it can happen to any of you. There are still a lot of violent illegal criminals in our country.”
Nicole Kiprilov, executive director of the Border Story project, called the video a “warning every American needs to hear.”
“This video is one of the most raw and heartbreaking testimonies we’ve captured — a mother who lost her son because politicians refused to secure the border,” Ms. Kiprilov said.
Another horrific crime elevated to national discourse is the unprovoked killing of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee. She was slaughtered as she sat in a light rail car in Charlotte, North Carolina. Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr. is accused of the attack that was captured on video.
Mr. Trump called attention to the murder, putting it at the forefront of his campaign to crack down on crime nationwide. He said the alleged perpetrator “was a well-known career criminal, who had been previously arrested and released on CASHLESS BAIL in January, a total of 14 TIMES.”
“What the hell was he doing riding the train, and walking the streets?” he asked rhetorically. “Criminals like this need to be LOCKED UP.”
The assault has become emblematic of Republicans’ warnings about repeat offenders being released by defendant-friendly judges and prosecutors in Democratic-led cities. The Republican Party hopes to make crime a key issue for the White House and candidates entering the 2026 midterm elections.
The U.S. added far fewer jobs than previously thought in the 12 months leading up to March, the government said.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics revised the job-creation total down by 911,000 positions, indicating a slowdown before Mr. Trump’s inauguration and enactment of sweeping tariffs. Mr. Trump and his allies questioned the accuracy of job numbers after a series of large revisions and disappointing monthly job reports over the summer.
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said the revision gave the American people “even more reason to doubt” the bureau’s figures, so it needs reform. Mr. Trump fired BLS chief Erika McEntarfer and selected E.J. Antoni, an economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, to replace her. Mr. Antoni needs Senate confirmation.
The economic outlook for farmers is dire, various growers and farm associations say.
Crop prices are low because of big yields, and high fertilizer costs from Mr. Trump’s tariff wars are stressing the heartland.
John Deere says its tractor sales are down because farmers are reluctant to make big equipment purchases in the highly uncertain environment.
As if that weren’t enough, China is refusing to buy American soybeans because of the trade standoff between the world’s two largest economies. This is a replay of tensions that led to a farmer bailout in Mr. Trump’s first term.
Farming lobbies say the economic outlook is dire, so they are looking for help from Washington.
Heartland farmers are bending Mr. Trump’s ear because they have been ardent supporters and know he wants to keep them in his corner.
Roughly 78% of voters in America’s most farming-dependent counties supported Mr. Trump in the November election.
