With just a day remaining for Donald Trump's presidential inauguration, his pick for border czar, Tom Homan, has taken a U-turn on his plan to conduct raids in New York City and Chicago. The reversal comes after the details of the mass deportation plan was leaked on media.
Homan said the incoming administration will make a final decision based on the news leak, adding that leaking information on law enforcement operations puts officers in danger.
The news reports suggested that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement was planning to conduct raids on Tuesday morning, within a day after Trump's inauguration on Monday.
The weeklong operation was expected to deploy around 200 officers. It should be noted that both New York City and Chicago are controlled by Democrats. As expected, the city councils have slammed Homan's move, saying the police would not cooperate with the immigration officers.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city will protect its immigrant communities from the ICE crackdown.
Homan earlier said that when Trump takes oath, ICE officers will apprehend people who threaten public safety and national security. He added that the new administration will not allow sanctuary jurisdictions like Chicago to hamper the raids.
Trump himself said the raid are a "big priority" but did not reveal the timing. He added that it was one of the reasons that he won the election by such a big margin.
Chicago ICE officials have informally requested agents to take part in the Tuesday operations. Around 11 million immigrants are living in the US illegally.