Immigration

US Marshals Find Missing Child With Illegals Near Chicago As Trump Admin Cracks Down On City

Jamie McCaffrey/Creative Commons/Flickr

Federal law enforcement agents located a missing girl in the company of two illegal migrants in the Chicago area as the Trump administration cracks down on the infamous sanctuary city.

U.S. Marshals, working in conjunction with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, rescued a 13-year-old girl who went missing hundreds of miles away in Rochester, New York, according to the agency. The missing teen was found with an 18-year-old male and his father, both of whom were determined by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be in the country unlawfully.

The girl was located in an apartment complex in Blue Island, Illinois, a suburb just south of Chicago.

“The United States Marshals Service worked tirelessly to recover this endangered child from the predators who should have never been in this country to take her from the safety of her family and home,” U.S. Marshals Service Director Gadyaces Serralta said in a public statement. “Our children deserve safe cities!”

The child’s rescue follows heightened immigration enforcement action in Chicago.

Earlier in September, ICE kicked off “Operation Midway Blitz” across the city and throughout the state of Illinois, targeting illegal migrants who are allegedly using sanctuary laws to shield themselves. Federal immigration officers have since arrested hundreds of criminal illegal migrants, including Tren de Aragua gangbangers and others charged with murder, sexual assault of a child, armed robbery and a slate of other criminal histories.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both Democrats, have fiercely resisted escalated ICE operations taking place on their turf. Johnson, who has repeatedly issued press releases and conducted media appearances speaking out against the crackdown, signed an executive order in August that seeks to “utilize legal action and legislation” against any immigration or National Guard deployment in Chicago.

More than 100 rioters surrounded an ICE processing center in Broadview, Illinois, on Friday and blocked the entrance of the building, with rioters allegedly throwing tear gas and slashing tires during the mayhem. Video footage captured Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh being slammed into the ground by a federal agent after allegedly participating in the rioting.

The Trump administration — which has already conducted large-scale illegal migrant crackdowns in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., — had been preparing to descend on Chicago. In August, the Department of Homeland Security requested the nearby Naval Station Great Lakes for limited logistical and infrastructure support to aid immigration operations.

U.S. Marshals, like numerous other federal law enforcement agencies, have taken a more outsized role in immigration enforcement since President Donald Trump returned to office.

A DHS directive handed down in January granted members across the federal government with many of the same authorities as ICE agents. Along with the U.S. Marshal Service, the directive applies to agents working within the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.