As the nation’s immigration crisis intensifies, the Windy City is rapidly becoming the eye of the political and legal storm — and President Donald Trump is making it clear he’s not in the mood for compromise. On Wednesday, the 45th President issued a blistering rebuke of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of endangering federal agents and calling for their incarceration over what he framed as a failure — or refusal — to protect ICE officers during ongoing federal operations in the city.
“Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect ICE Officers! Governor Pritzker also!” Trump declared on Truth Social, responding to escalating resistance from state and local officials to his "Operation Midway Blitz" — a massive immigration and crime enforcement surge currently underway in Chicago.
Democrat IL Governor JB Pritzker challenges Trump, saying, "If you come for my people, you come through me. So come & get me!"
By "his people," he is referring to the criminal illegal aliens that he protects in his "sanctuary city."pic.twitter.com/AKGJoHzKal
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 8, 2025
Launched last month, Operation Midway Blitz has already resulted in over 1,000 arrests, targeting illegal immigrants and violent criminals in one of America’s most crime-plagued cities. But instead of cooperation, federal agents have encountered hostility — not just from protesters, but from city and state leaders themselves.
Governor Pritzker and Mayor Johnson have loudly objected to Trump’s deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops. Pritzker went so far as to accuse the Trump administration of turning Chicago into a "war zone" — a pointed rebuttal to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s characterization of the city as already being one.
JB Pritzker: "What kind of a country are we living in when the president of the United States is targeting his political opponents?"
These people think we've suddenly forgotten the last 4 years. pic.twitter.com/9e1kw04bdH
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) October 8, 2025
In a bold and highly controversial move, Johnson signed an executive order this week designating “ICE-free zones” across the city, barring federal officers from using public property — and even some private businesses — to conduct enforcement operations. It’s an unprecedented act of defiance from a sitting mayor in the face of federal authority.
But the situation turned dangerous over the weekend. According to Homeland Security, ICE agents operating in Chicago were ambushed — rammed by vehicles and surrounded by protesters. One of the drivers, later identified as Marimar Martinez, was armed with a semi-automatic weapon and had previously issued threats against federal personnel. After being wounded by return fire and taken to the hospital, she was arrested by the FBI.
🚨WATCH: JB Pritzker just said the quiet part out loud:
"We don't want people picked up off the streets just because they happen to be illegal."pic.twitter.com/JIe90QzJV4
— CJ Pearson (@thecjpearson) October 8, 2025
Internal dispatches obtained by Fox News revealed that the Chicago Police Department was told not to respond to the unfolding attack. The message read: “NO UNITS WILL RESPOND,” a direct order from the chief of patrol, even as 30 armed federal agents were pleading for assistance. The department later issued a statement denying the report, claiming that officers did respond to maintain public safety. But senior CPD sources reportedly contradicted that version of events.
This isn't an isolated incident. Reports indicate that similar vehicular attacks against federal agents occurred in recent days, allegedly carried out by illegal immigrants attempting to obstruct arrests. Yet local officials remain silent on the growing threat against federal law enforcement.