Durbin Condemns President Trump's Vile, Fearmongering Social Post About Mass Deportations In Chicago

Durbin Condemns President Trump's Vile, Fearmongering Social Post About Mass Deportations In Chicago

As the Trump Administration launches "Operation Midway Blitz," Durbin pushes back against the deeply political mission sowing fear in Chicago rather than addressing crime

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered a scathing rebuttal to President Trump's continued attacks on Chicago, in addition to his deployment of ICE agents to the city as part of his newly-announced "Operation Midway Blitz." In his remarks on the Senate floor, Durbin made clear that President Trump's actions are performative, and if he did intend to truly support Chicagoans, he would work with the state's elected officials to address the city's needs.

Durbin began his remarks by condemning President Trump's social media post that disparaged Chicago and invoked images of war.

"This past Saturday, the President of the United States of America posted a shocking, grotesque message on social media. Accompanied by an AI-generated image of military helicopters flying over a burning Chicago skyline with explosions in the background, the President of the United States posted that he 'loves the smell of deportations in the morning.' He went on to say that Chicago is 'about to find out why it's called the Department of WAR,'" Durbin began.

"Let me remind you that this outrageous vision of an American city that I love under attack from Trump's 'Department of War' comes from a man who aspires to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize," Durbin said.

"He may think it's a joke. To me, it's no joke. It is an unprecedented and dangerous threat by the President against the American people. What is the limit to his power, and where is the line to be drawn if a president is able to go to war against a city he also represents? I cannot imagine," Durbin continued.

Durbin underscored that President Trump's unwelcome advancements into cities across the country is nothing more than an attempt to distract from his increasingly unpopular domestic policies that will push up to 17 million Americans off their health care plans while grocery prices climb.

"He [President Trump] claims these extraordinary steps are aimed at reducing crime and getting violent criminals off the streets," Durbin said. "Count me in on reducing crime, but deporting people who are innocent, who have no criminal background whatsoever, is not the answer."

"Let me give you a few ideas of things that you can do as President of the United States, which can make a serious difference. Number one, when we take a look at the guns used in crime in the city of Chicago, guess what we find? A large percentage of them come from the neighboring state of Indiana, with lax laws when it comes to background checks on purchases of firearms. If we get a little tougher, and we have actual background checks, we're going to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. That's something you can do, Mr. President. You can show some leadership,"Durbin said.

"We all can agree that we should be working together to reduce violent crime, but in this case, we know it's just a front," Durbin said. "He's targeting Chicago for political theater. He finds objections to crime in communities that are governed by Democrats, but not Republicans. He is attacking Democratic officials so he can distract from the failures of his own policies and the scandals plaguing his Administration."

"He wants us, please, to forget the so-called 'Big, Beautiful Bill'… It's going to take health care protection away from 17 million Americans, and it's going to make it difficult for rural hospitals in my state of Illinois to survive," Durbin said. "The President has decided that he wants to take the revenue from cutting back on health care and provide for tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans."

Durbin denounced President Trump's "Operation Midway Blitz," emphasizing that this operation is about cruelly sowing fear into immigrant communities rather than addressing crime. Durbin then spoke about his visit to Naval Station Great Lakes last week after reports indicated that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will use the naval base as a local headquarters.

"Earlier today, the Administration announced what they're calling 'Operation Midway Blitz' in Chicago to crackdown on undocumented immigrants with criminal records. However, if their D.C. experience is any indication, we know most of the people they will arrest have no criminal backgrounds," Durbin said.

"This weekend, I traveled to Naval Station Great Lakes with Senator Tammy Duckworth and Representative Brad Schneider. There were reports that DHS intends to use the Navy base to assist in these raids," Durbin continued. "At a productive meeting with leadership at the base, we were assured the base would not be used as a detention center for detainees. Here is what is happening as part of that federal assistance request: the base will provide parking, office space, and the ability to store certain non-lethal munitions for DHS through October 5."

During their visit to the naval base, Durbin, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Brad Schneider (D-IL-10) sought to meet with DHS leadership. Rather than meeting with the elected officials, DHS leaders locked the members out of their commandeered building.

"However, as part of our visit to the base, we asked to meet with Department of Homeland Security, which is going to rent an office building for 30 days… You know what the response was from the Trump Department of Homeland Security when we went to the office building which they have rented and is supposedly part of this invasion of Chicago? They closed the building. They locked it so we couldn't go inside and announced they were taking administrative leave and would be unavailable to even discuss with us what they're going to do," Durbin said. "They fled so that we could not conduct oversight of their secretive effort. It certainly begs the question, what are they trying to hide?"

As Trump Administration officials refuse to disclose their plans, Durbin has formally requested details about the Administration's intentions to increase federal law enforcement's presence in Chicago.

"Last week, I sent a letter to Attorney General Bondi, Secretaries Noem and Hegseth, and FBI Director Patel requesting immediate information regarding the increased law enforcement and potential military presence in Chicago. I sent a letter to my colleague and friend on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chairman Grassley, requesting an immediate hearing on President Trump's threats to deploy the military to Chicago and other American cities," Durbin said.

"If this President and this Administration want to join in fighting crime, on a cooperative, bipartisan basis, [then] count me in. But political theater, visions of Chicago being blown up by a 'Department of War,' I want no part of it," Durbin continued.

"As this situation unfolds, my office remains in constant contact and coordination with state and local officials, community leaders, and my colleagues in Congress. I'll continue to provide updates to Illinois as we learn more," Durbin said.

"The President is using fear to deflect and drive a wedge among us. Unfortunately, he seems to be succeeding to some extent, but the people of Chicago won't take kindly to a bully and a wannabe dictator," Durbin said. "On Saturday evening, thousands of marchers peacefully passed by Trump Tower and filled the streets of Chicago to make their voices heard. They were clear in their call-Mr. President, do not send the military here for political purposes."

Video of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

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