Chicago, San Diego Brace for Fight With Trump Border Czar

ICE veteran has vowed ‘shock and awe’ in immigration crackdown
Local governments around the country are girding for showdown

Migrants wait to be transported for asylum claim processing at the US-Mexico border in Campo, California, on April 5, 2024. — Migrants wait to be transported for asylum claim processing at the US-Mexico border in Campo, California, on April 5, 2024.
Photographer: Mark Abramson/Bloomberg

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By Alicia A. Caldwell and Isis Almeida

January 18, 2025 at 3:14 PM UTC

Updated on

January 18, 2025 at 7:20 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Tom Homan has crisscrossed America since President-elect Donald Trump named the former cop and immigration official his border czar, promising “shock and awe” alongside the biggest deportation the US has ever seen.

But wherever Homan goes, from New York City to Texas, he’s zeroed in on two cities he plans to target in the first days of Trump’s new presidency: San Diego and Chicago.