Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that the Trump administration is preparing to expand immigration operations in Chicago, confirming plans for a greater presence of federal agents in the nation's third-largest city as President Donald Trump continues to criticize Illinois' Democratic leadership.

According to statements to CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” “We’ve already had ongoing operations with ICE in Chicago and throughout Illinois and other states, making sure we’re enforcing our laws, but we intend to add more resources to those operations.”

“Many cities are dealing with crime and violence right now, so we haven’t ruled anything out,” she said, adding, “I would encourage all the big cities, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, whatever they may be, if they want to help make their city safer and more prosperous, to allow people to walk freely like the people in Washington, D.C., are doing right now… they should call us,” she said.

Asked what an expansion of ICE operations in Chicago would look like and whether it would involve mobilizing National Guard troops to help with immigration raids and arrests, Noem hesitated, saying, “That’s always a prerogative of President Donald Trump and his decision. I won’t get into specifics about planned operations in other cities.”

However, Noem declined to provide further details on the planned increase in federal agents. This comes after the Trump administration deployed National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., to combat crime, immigration, and homelessness, and two months after sending troops to Los Angeles.

This stance comes a day after Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order directing his city’s law department to explore ways to counter a potential increase in federal law enforcement and National Guard troops in Illinois.

Johnson warned that Chicago officials had “received credible reports that we have days, not weeks, before our cities see any type of militarized activity by the federal government.”

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