NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. – Local officials were informed on Friday that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security closed its command center at a north suburban naval base.
What we know:
Great Lakes Naval Station was providing support for DHS operations in the Chicago area for the last two months or so, during which time federal immigration agents were engaged in Operation Midway Blitz.
DHS claimed on Friday that more than 4,000 undocumented immigrants have been arrested in the Chicago area during the operation.
City of North Chicago officials were informed of the closure late Friday afternoon, according to Gregory Jackson, the chief of staff to the city’s mayor.
A spokesperson for DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the reported closure.
The backstory:
This comes as DHS has denied reports in recent days of it winding down Operation Midway Blitz and sending agents to other cities.
In response to a Chicago Tribune report that Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino and his team were being reassigned, a DHS spokesperson said, “We aren’t leaving Chicago.”
It’s unclear exactly what the command center’s closure means for immigration operations in the Chicago area more broadly.
Still, on Friday, The Associated Press reported that officials in Charlotte, North Carolina, were preparing for the arrival of Border Patrol agents and immigration sweeps.
In response to a North Carolina congresswoman’s statement on her concern over Border Patrol coming to Charlotte, Bovino responded on X referring to operations in Chicago in the past tense.
“Immigrants rest assured, we have your back like we did in Chicago and Los Angeles,” Bovino wrote.