DHS Rebukes Chicago Mayor Johnson for Blaming ICE Chicago Crime Uptick After 'Safest Summer' Claim
The article details a sharp clash between Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Department of Homeland Security over Operation Midway Blitz, a large ICE/Border Patrol surge that began around early September. Johnson, citing University of Chicago Crime Lab data and NPR analysis, says Chicago had its safest summer since 1965 with 123 murders from June through August 2025 and argues violent crime rose again "once ICE and the Border Patrol showed up," especially where they were most active. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin counters that Johnson is "demonizing" law enforcement amid what she calls a 1,300% increase in assaults on agents, touts more than 4,500 arrests of noncitizens with criminal records during the operation, and urges him to "turn down the rhetoric" and cooperate to prevent further killings by "gang members, murderers, drug traffickers, and rapists." The dispute is playing out publicly on X, with Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino pointing to "double‑digit decreases" in Chicago violent crime tied to arrests of "violent illegal aliens," while Johnson and Rep. Jesús García highlight fatal shootings by agents such as that of Mexican national Silverio Gonzalez and call for federal investigations. The confrontation underscores a broader national fault line over whether aggressive federal immigration raids in big "sanctuary" cities reduce or inflame crime and how much latitude DHS should have when local leaders argue they have driven down violence on their own.
📌 Key Facts
- Mayor Brandon Johnson says Chicago recorded 123 murders between June and August 2025, which he calls the city’s safest summer since 1965, before DHS launched Operation Midway Blitz in early September.
- Johnson argues that after ICE and Border Patrol under Cmdr. Gregory Bovino arrived, crime "went up" in neighborhoods where they were most active, and he has framed the city’s progress as achieved "in spite of ICE."
- DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin responds that assaults on immigration agents have surged about 1,300% and says Operation Midway Blitz has resulted in more than 4,500 arrests of noncitizens with criminal records, many allegedly violent offenders.
- Johnson and Rep. Jesús García point to the fatal shooting of Mexican national Silverio Gonzalez by ICE agents—whom ICE says drove toward officers and injured one—as an example warranting federal scrutiny, while DHS frames opposition from 'sanctuary politicians' as endangering the public and agents.
- The war of words escalated after Bovino, replying to strategist David Axelrod’s criticism, claimed 'double‑digit decreases' in Chicago violent crime from taking 'violent illegal aliens off the streets by the thousands,' a characterization Johnson rejects.
📊 Relevant Data
Assaults against ICE law enforcement officers increased by 1,153% from 19 reported assaults in 2024 to 238 in 2025, according to DHS data.
Sanctuary Politicians' Rhetoric Fuels More Than 1,150% Increase in Violence Against ICE Law Enforcement — Department of Homeland Security
97% of hundreds of undocumented immigrants arrested in Chicago during recent immigration raids, including Operation Midway Blitz, had no criminal record, based on DOJ records.
Records show hundreds of immigrants arrested in Chicago had no criminal histories — NPR
Chicago's immigrant population reached nearly 600,000 in 2024, its highest level since 2006, driven by international migration including over 96,000 arrivals in the Chicago area in 2024 alone.
A portrait of immigrants in Chicago: Immigrant population reaches its highest level in nearly 20 years — Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago experienced a 21.2% decline in violent crime from January 1 through September 7, 2025, compared to 2024, with similar declines continuing after the start of Operation Midway Blitz.
City leaders push back after DHS takes credit for Chicago's crime drop — Chicago Sun-Times
In 2020, Chicago's racial makeup was 35.9% White, 29.0% Black, 29.0% Hispanic or Latino, and 7.0% Asian, with recent population growth largely driven by international immigration offsetting domestic out-migration.
Demographics of Chicago — Wikipedia
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