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GARY, Ind. — Top federal and state officials are holding a press conference Thursday morning at the Indiana National Guard Armory at the Gary/Chicago International Airport to announce the results of "Operation Midway Blitz," a multi-agency law enforcement effort they describe as targeting human trafficking and drug trade across the Midwest.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joins Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Braun, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and senior leadership from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detail the operation’s impact and next steps for continued enforcement.

The announcement comes amid heightened national debate over federal immigration crackdowns, which have drawn widespread criticism from local leaders, advocacy groups, and some state officials who argue the policies are overly punitive and strain community trust. Thursday’s event in Gary underscores the administration’s push to showcase enforcement results even as opposition to its tactics continues to build across the country.

All times Central Daylight:

Closing remarks

11:55 a.m. | "No American citizens have been arrested or detained," Noem said.

Sanctuary states issuing CDLs

11:50 a.m. | Noem said sanctuary states "like Illinois" need to "stop issuing commercial drivers licenses, CDLs, to illegal aliens." 

Protesters outside

11:45 a.m. | Protesters are gathered outside of the airport holding signs that read, "Close ICE Concentration Camps" and "No ICE in America."

Noem sites fatal Florida accident as starting point for pursuing CDLs

11:40 a.m. | Noem said a fatal accident that killed three people in Florida was the starting point for going after "illegal aliens with CDLs."

"223 illegal aliens have been taken off of these roads," she said.��

"What we have seen in attacks against ICE officers is unacceptable," Noem said. "Every single ICE officer has someone who loves them, has a family member, has someone who cares if they come home at night." 

"We everyday are focused on arresting the worst of the worst," Noem said. "The one thing I would remind every single person in this country is someone who is here in this country illegally has the opportunity to go home."

Deputy director of ICE speaks

11:38 a.m. | Madison Sheahan said that Braun "walking beside ICE" has helped federal agents get "criminals off the street."

ICE director speaks

11:35 a.m. | Todd Lyons, acting director of ICE, said, "We knew the problem existed beyond the city borders of Chicago."

Lyons said the federal government's partnership with Indiana has been crucial to their success.��

Lyons said a man who he called an "illegal alien" was driving using a CDL and caused a fatal accident in California late last month.��

He added that most of the "illegal aliens who have received CDLs received them from sanctuary states.�� 

Braun speaks

11:28 a.m. | "CDLs take a lot of effort to get them and when they are handed out like places like California and others have, it puts others in peril," Braun said.��

3,000 arrested

11:26 a.m. | Noem says since the beginning of Midway Blitz there has been 3,000 people arrested including "rapists, murderers and gang members."

'Your days are numbered'

11:20 a.m. | Noem thanked Gov. Braun for his partnership with the federal government on their efforts. She then elaborated on how she has noticed how a recent operation tracking commercial drivers licenses has helped the government make immigration related arrests including 46 semitruck drivers. Noem said "the days are numbered for illegal aliens" operating vehicles on American roads.��

"We've seen over the years that they don't speak English and they can't read our road signs," she said. "Putting these foreigners in tractor trailers like the ones you see behind me is extremely dangerous." 

Live updates

11:10 a.m. | The press conference was scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CST. As of 11:10 a.m. it had not yet started.

'It's a war zone'

ICE launched "Midway Blitz" in Chicago on Sept. 8, drawing concern from activists and immigrant communities who said they noticed an increased presence of immigration enforcement agents. Aggressive tactics used by federal agents not only in Chicago, but nationwide. ICE has deployed chemical agents near a public school, conducted raids of apartment complexes where personal items were destroyed, and have dragged people away in unmarked vehicles, .��

“They are the ones that are making it a war zone,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said recently on CNN. “They fire tear gas and smoke grenades, and they make it look like it’s a war zone.”

Officials across the region have been grappling with plans on how to handle ICE presence. Earlier this month, Hammond, Indiana city property by Democrat Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., who said the city was not partnering with federal agents to use their facilities.

"It is deeply concerning that federal agents would enter and use Hammond’s property without permission — especially when the Federal Courthouse is located just one block west of our police headquarters," McDermott said. The Hammond Common Council , which is not enforceable by law in the same way a local ordinance is, prohibiting ICE from using city property without permission.��