A new report claims that President Donald Trump’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is preparing to deploy tactical units known as Special Response Teams to five major Democrat-led cities and regions as anti-ICE protests and riots continue to spread throughout the country.
Two sources familiar with ICE’s operation planning told NBC News that ICE is preparing to deploy Special Response Teams to Chicago, Seattle, Philadelphia, New York City, and northern Virginia. While NBC News reported that it is not yet clear whether the tactical ICE units will immediately launch raids in the Democrat-run cities and regions, the anonymous sources claimed that Special Response Teams in each of the five areas have been ordered to be ready to deploy.
According to ICE’s website, Special Response Teams are tactical units that are “trained to serve high-risk warrants under hazardous conditions, escort dangerous criminal aliens who have been ordered deported and assist local law enforcement agencies during critical incidents.”
NBC News reported that ICE’s Special Response Teams were used by the Trump administration in Los Angeles prior to the start of the protests and riots that have continued for multiple days in the city.
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According to Fox 32, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s chief of staff, confirmed that ICE’s tactical units had been ordered to stand by.
“We’ve received word that federal agents have been informed that they have 48 hours to standby and be ready to deploy,” Pacione-Zayas said during a news conference. “There will be tactical teams, there will be mini-tanks, there will be other tools that they use, in which they plan to do raids as we saw in Los Angeles.”
The Chicago mayor’s chief of staff added, “We have been coordinating with the state, we have also been coordinating with the county, making sure that we have open lines of communication.”
According to King5.com, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell claimed that while the city had not received notice of federal law enforcement officials deploying to Seattle, the city would continue to limit its cooperation with ICE due to Washington state’s laws.
“We want to protect our people here,” Harrell said. “We want to protect those most vulnerable. We only arrest people who are breaking the law. We want to see protests.”
