The Trump administration is considering turning an Illinois naval station near Chicago into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation center, according to border czar Tom Homan.
The administration reportedly requested that the Naval Station Great Lakes help support ICE operations in the area, according to reports. The request comes as President Donald Trump has threatened to deploy the National Guard in Chicago.
Homan confirmed to reporters Thursday that there have been “discussions” about turning the base, which is located north of Chicago, into an ICE operation center before a reported multi-agency immigration enforcement crackdown after Labor Day.
“The planning is still being discussed, so maybe by the end of today,” he said when asked how soon ICE or other federal law enforcement agents, including the National Guard, could be there.
Homan declined to provide details regarding how many federal agents or National Guard members could be at the base, but added, “There will be a large contingent.”
If the Trump administration comes to an agreement with the base, which is the Navy’s largest training camp located about 40 miles north of downtown Chicago, it would house ICE agents and possibly National Guard troops, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Naval Station Great Lakes spokesman Matt Mogle told the Associated Press that DHS asked the station for “limited support in the form of facilities, infrastructure, and other logistical needs to support DHS operations.”
Since federalizing Washington, D.C.’s, police department and deploying the National Guard in early August, Trump has floated the idea of bringing in National Guard troops to other blue cities, such as Chicago, to help crack down on crime and illegal immigration. Several blue state officials have fought back, doubting the legality of Trump’s National Guard deployment without state approval.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) filed a lawsuit against Trump in June over the president’s deployment of National Guard and Marine troops to Los Angeles after protests broke out in the city over ICE raids. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, wrote in the complaint that the state believed local authorities had the protests under control and that Trump’s order was a breach of state sovereignty.
Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) has also shot back at Trump’s threats to deploy the National Guard, telling reporters on Monday that the president is “doing this for theatrics.”
“I am sounding the alarm on the real crisis we face today. Donald Trump’s overreach is what our founders warned against – it is unprecedented, unwarranted, and un-American. There’s no emergency here that calls for military intervention,” Pritzker wrote Monday on X.
However, Trump has remained adamant that the Windy City needs the help of federal law enforcement.
“Governor Pritzker had 6 murders in Chicago this weekend. 20 people were shot. But he doesn’t want to ask me for help. Can this be possible? The people are desperate for me to STOP THE CRIME, something the Democrats aren’t capable of doing. STAY TUNED!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Chicago has had the most murders of any U.S. city consecutively from 2012 to 2024, according to Wirepoints, an Illinois research and commentary nonprofit organization.
During a press briefing on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “This is Governor Pritzker’s legacy. He should put politics aside, he should pick up the phone and call this president who would be more than happy to do right by law-abiding American residents in the city of Chicago, and we hope that he will.”
In terms of Chicago’s crime statistics from this year compared to 2024, things seem to be trending in a positive direction, according to the city government’s published crime statistics.
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From Aug. 20 to Aug. 26, there have been eight murders in Chicago compared to 13 in the same week last year, according to the city’s crime statistics. In the last 28 days, there have been 31 murder victims across the city, compared to 47 in the same time period last year. Murders are down 31.9% compared to this same time last year. Human trafficking, which is up 6.7% from last year in the city, is the only year-to-date statistic that has increased in Chicago.
The murder rates in Chicago for the past seven years have consistently been higher in the latter six months of the year, except in 2023, according to the Council on Criminal Justice.
Naomi Lim contributed to this report.