Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visits Chicago area amid increased ICE operations

DHS Sec. Kristi Noem visits Chicago area, shares video of Elgin ICE raid

DHS Sec. Kristi Noem visits Chicago area, shares video of Elgin ICE raid

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U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was in the Chicago area Tuesday morning amid increased immigration enforcement operations in the city, multiple sources told CBS News.

The Department of Homeland Security launched what it dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz” last week. 

DHS earlier said the operation aimed to “target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois,” a situation it blamed on the city and state’s sanctuary laws that prohibit local and state law enforcement from cooperating with ICE agents. 

The department said its mission would be carried out to honor Katie Abraham, a Chicago woman killed in a drunk driving hit-and-run crash in Urbana, Illinois, about 130 miles south of Chicago, earlier this year. The driver was an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala. 

Noem left the Chicago area shortly before 10 a.m. Tuesday, not long after posting video to X of immigration arrests made at night. The video Noem posted matched video posted to Facebook of an ICE raid in Elgin, Illinois, which is 42 miles northwest of Chicago. 

This week, a brave @ICEgov officer was dragged many yards by a car after a criminal illegal alien resisted arrest. His life was put at risk and he sustained serious injuries.

President Trump has been clear: if politicians will not put the safety of their citizens first, this… pic.twitter.com/2BSUg4a7U6

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) September 16, 2025

Her tweet referenced the incident in Franklin Park, Illinois, a northwest suburb in which an ICE agent was dragged and an undocumented driver was fatally shot on Friday. The video Noem posted is not video of that Franklin Park incident, which was captured on surveillance video at nearby businesses. 

This is a developing story. Stay with CBS Chicago for further updates as they are available.

Jennifer Jacobs

contributed to this report.

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Adam Harrington is a web producer at CBS Chicago, where he first arrived in January 2006.

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