Incoming "border czar" Tom Homan said large-scale raids could begin as early as Tuesday as part of President-elect Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration.

In an interview with Fox News on Friday night, Homan did not provide further details, but he did confirm that Chicago would be one of the target cities.

"On Tuesday, ICE is finally going to go out and do their job. We're going to take the handcuffs off ICE," he said, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Homan, the former acting head of ICE, added that immigration agents will focus on "the most serious issues, starting with public safety threats, but no one is excluded. If they come in illegally, they're going to have problems."

were first to report on the expected attack in Chicago. Wall Street Journal. Homan previously visited the city in December and threatened to sue the mayor if he refused to cooperate.

On Saturday, Homan told washington post The incoming administration is reconsidering a raid in Chicago as details have been leaked to the media, but no final decision has been made.

Chicago is one of hundreds of sanctuary cities and counties in the United States that often bar local resources from supporting federal immigration enforcement.

The prospect of a Chicago raid echoes Homan's past comments that he would not allow sanctuary jurisdictions to hinder the incoming administration's crackdown on illegal immigration.

On Saturday, Beatriz Ponce de León, Chicago's deputy mayor for immigration, immigrant and refugee rights, said news of possible immigration raids in Chicago on Tuesday "is not a surprise ”, but “the confirmation of the hearing makes it more real, more real.” Be specific. "

The city is ready, she said. In addition to community agencies hosting Know Your Rights events in various locations, Chicago leaders have met with city departments and sister agencies, such as police and public school districts, to detail existing city policies, she said.

An estimated 11 million immigrants live in the United States without legal status.

Both Homan and Trump have vowed to carry out the largest deportations in U.S. history. But the plan is expected to face legal and logistical hurdles, including where to resettle millions of people after they are detained.

In Chicago, community organizers and elected officials scramble to encourage residents not to panic

In the city's Southwest Side, Any Huamani, a community organizer with the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, is fielding requests for "know your rights" training and leading a rapid response team via private group chat. Team members are ready to be dispatched in case ICE agents arrive in her community.

"Obviously every situation is different," Vamani said. "If they were there to detain someone, the rapid response team would respond in a different way. We have to yell 'This is your right. You know, who can we call? Give us a phone number.' We Also trying to document... ICE agents, if there was an ICE truck or an unidentified truck."

At the same time, 20 training requests were received.

Wamani said the biggest worry among immigrants without legal status in the United States is leaving their children behind.

During Trump's first administration, his "zero tolerance" policy separated more than 5,000 children from their parents across the border, with no system for tracking and family reunification. Some also worry about being detained or held in a city or state with which they are unfamiliar. Huamani has been advising people at risk of being detained by ICE to memorize at least three phone numbers so they can be located if they are detained by ICE.

Organizers fear ICE agents may target the city's Southwest Side and conduct raids on workplaces in nearby suburbs, where large numbers of immigrants without legal status are also concentrated.

Garien Gatewood, Chicago's deputy mayor for community safety, said that for 40 years, the police department has operated under a welcoming city ordinance that puts immigration enforcement under the federal government's responsibility.

The Chicago Police Department does not record immigration status and does not share information with federal immigration authorities, spokesman Don Terry said in a statement. But he added that police "will not interfere or disrupt any other government agency in the performance of its duties."

“From top to bottom, everyone in CPD understands the role they play,” he said. "This is not their first interaction with federal agents dealing with immigration status issues."

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker's office did not respond to news that immigration raids will begin in Chicago next week. The office provided a transcript of the governor's statement at a Dec. 11 news conference in which he said he "believes he has an obligation to protect" immigrants who are undocumented and have not committed violent crimes.

WBEZ and more On how Chicago is preparing for the incoming Trump administration.