The Trump administration is planning a major operation against illegal immigrants in Chicago, starting the day after the inauguration of the 47th president of US, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal citing four well-informed sources.

The “sweep” operation is expected to begin Tuesday and run through the end of next week, according to the WSJ report, which said 100-200 immigration agents will be involved.

Reuters news agency said it contacted Trump’s staff but did not receive a response to a request for comment on the report. However, a source familiar with the new administration’s plans said the immigration service would step up operations across the country, with no emphasis on Chicago. “We’ll be conducting operations across the country… You’ll see arrests in New York. You’re going to see arrests in Miami,” he said.

As sources described it to the New York Post, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is “gearing up for a big f—ing operation.”

The operation will take place in cities that have served as “safe destinations” for immigrants as local authorities are not cooperating with the federal government on immigration, the same sources explained to the newspaper.

According to the same source, people for whom deportation orders have been issued will be targeted in the first instance.

One source even said that some ICE agencies have already stopped making arrests to make room in detention centers in anticipation of the upcoming operations.

Trump’s so-called “border czar,” Tom Homan, said at an event in Chicago last December that the new administration “will start here in Chicago, Illinois,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “And if the mayor of Chicago doesn’t want to help, let him step aside. But if he gets in our way, if he knowingly harbors an illegal immigrant, I will prosecute him,” Homan reportedly said.

Illegal immigration has been at the heart of Trump’s campaign.“Within minutes of my inauguration, we will launch the largest deportation operation in American history,” Donald Trump had said in January 2024.