TV host 'Dr. Phil' films as ICE targets migrants in Chicago

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26/01/2025 22:15

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      'Dr. Phil' embeds with ICE in Chicago
    

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      Trump administration deputizes DOJ agencies for
immigration
enforcement
    

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      ICE arrests on Thursday up from previous average
    

  
    By Sarah N. Lynch
       WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The TV host known as "Dr.
Phil" embedded with U.S. immigration enforcement officers during
an operation in Chicago on Sunday, defending President Donald
Trump's deportation effort as the crackdown neared the end of
its first week.
    Phil McGraw, known as "Dr. Phil" for the eponymous American
television series focused on mental health, followed U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and other
federal agents during the action, according to his X account and
two sources familiar with the matter.
    McGraw, who spoke at a Trump campaign event in October, said
in a post on X on Sunday that ICE aimed to pick 270 "high-value
targets", indicating it was a targeted operation, and defended
the approach.
    "They're not sweeping neighborhoods like people are trying
to imply," he said.
    Trump, a Republican, took steps to launch a wide-ranging
immigration crackdown after taking office on Jan. 20, sending
U.S. troops to the border and empowering immigration agents to
pick up more non-criminals. The Trump administration last week
deputized law enforcement agents with several Justice Department
agencies to conduct immigration enforcement to supplement ICE
efforts.
    Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and
U.S. Marshals Service were granted the authority, the Trump
administration said last week.
    In addition to Dr. Phil, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil
Bove publicized his trip to watch DOJ agents support immigration
enforcement.
    "This morning, I had the privilege of observing brave men
and women of the department deploying in lockstep with DHS to
address a national emergency arising from four years of failed
immigration policy," Bove said in a statement, adding that the
deputized agencies, the FBI, and federal prosecutors would all
be working on the effort.
    Senior Justice Department officials are not typically
present to observe law enforcement operations in real-time,
current and former department officials say.
    A Justice Department official said that the first arrest in
Chicago that Bove observed involved an immigrant living
illegally in the U.S. who had "killed a 19-year-old woman while
driving under the influence."
    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is
part of DHS, said it partnered with the DOJ for "enhanced
targeted operations" in Chicago on Sunday aimed at preserving
public safety but did not provide further details.
    The office of Chicago's Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson did
not immediately respond to a request for comment.
        ICE made 538 arrests nationwide on Thursday, White House
spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said, signaling an uptick from
averages over previous years.
    The agency's daily average for arrests was 311 in fiscal
year 2024 and 467 in fiscal year 2023.

 (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; additional reporting by Kristina
Cooke in San Francisco and Ted Hesson in Washington; editing by
Diane Craft)
 ((mailto:sarah.n.lynch@thomsonreuters.com; 202-579-0289;))