Noem suggests Chicago immigration blitz includes 5 other states, claims no U.S. citizens detained

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem traveled to northwest Indiana on Thursday and indicated the immigration enforcement campaign that’s rocked the Chicago area actually extends to five other states, none of which have so-called sanctuary protections and two of which are led by Republicans.

Noem made the surprising disclosure during a news conference at Gary-Chicago International Airport alongside other Trump administration officials and leaders from Indiana who sought to highlight a series of recent arrests on roadways in the red state.

Noem said the Midway Blitz deportation campaign “includes Indiana, Chicago, Illinois and that area that the field office is covering.”

When the operation was announced Sept. 8, DHS said it would “target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois,” but the ICE Chicago field office also includes Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kentucky and Kansas.

Despite evidence to the contrary, Noem also said, “There’s no American citizens that have been arrested or detained. We focus on those that are here illegally. And anything that you would hear or report that would be different than that is simply not true.”

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• This report was published in partnership with the Chicago Sun-Times. For more, visit chicago.suntimes.com.