Trump admin updates: ICE launches immigration enforcement operation in Boston

Trump was adamant on Sunday that “we’re not going to war” with Chicago after he shared a post on Saturday with a caption that reads: “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”

“We’re not going to war. We’re going to clean up our cities,” Trump said. “We’re going to clear them up so they don’t kill every five people every weekend. That’s not war. That’s common sense.”

Asked why he’s targeting Chicago and Boston when there are cities in red states with higher crime rates like Memphis and St. Louis, Trump replied, “Excuse me, excuse me. Do you know how many people were killed in Chicago last weekend? Eight. Do you know how many were killed in Chicago the week before? Seven. Do you know how many people were wounded? Seventy-four people were wounded. You think there’s worse than that? I don’t think so.”

According to data from the FBI, Chicago and Boston have lower crime rates than cities in red states, including Memphis and St. Louis. The data shows that Chicago has 17.5 murders per 100,000 people and Boston has 3.6, while Memphis and St. Louis have murder rates of 40.6 and 54.1, respectively, per 100,000 people.

-ABC News’ Selina Wang

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has launched an immigration enforcement operation in Boston, dubbed Patriot 2.0.

A DHS spokesperson told ABC News the operation is meant to target "the worst of the worst" in Massachusetts.

In May, DHS launched "Operation Patriot," which targeted Massachusetts and netted 1,500 arrests in a month, according to DHS.

The Boston operation comes as Chicago is bracing for a 30-day immigration crackdown surge.

-ABC News' Luke Barr

Trump on Saturday continued his threats to deploy ICE agents to Chicago with a post on his social media platform that evoked the 1979 Vietnam War film "Apocalypse Now."

Trump shared a manipulated image with the caption "I love the smell of deportations in the morning…," echoing the oft-quoted line "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" uttered in the film by the war-loving character Lt. Col. Kilgore. "Chicago is about to find out why it's called the Department of WAR," the post continued.

The post is accompanied by an apparently AI-generated image of Trump dressed as Kilgore, with the Chicago skyline in the background and helicopters in the foreground, and the superimposed title "Chipocalypse Now."

Trump on Friday signed an executive order renaming the Department of Defense the Department of War, although the formal renaming of the department would require Congress' approval.

"The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution," Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson posted on X in response to Trump's post. "We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump."

The back and forth between Trump and Chicago Democrats has increased over the last week, with Trump calling Chicago "the worst and most dangerous city in the World, by far," on his social media platform and declaring he will "solve the crime problem fast, just like I did in DC. Chicago will be safe again, and soon."

Violent crime in Chicago dropped significantly in the first half of the year, according to official data released by the city. Shootings were down 37% and homicides have dropped by 32% compared to the first half of 2024, while total violent crime dropped by over 22%, according to the crime statistics.

Trump hosted friendly U.S. House members, and some senators, for dinner to christen the new Rose Garden patio on Friday night -- an event he said was a “reward” for the lawmakers’ loyalty in delivering key votes related to his agenda.

“This is a special group, and it is true, there's not one person in this audience that I had a call to ask for help, that we needed your vote. You're unbelievable people,” Trump said.

Trump called the new Rose Garden the “Rose Garden Club” that he said would be a “club for senators, for Congress people and for people in Washington."

Friday night's gathering was the first event held in the newly renovated patio because Trump’s planned dinner with more than two dozen technology and business leaders on Thursday had to be moved inside due to the rain.

In his remarks, Trump suggested he would be asking the members of Congress for funding to “beautify” Washington, D.C.

"We're going to fix the roads, we're going to fix the medians, we're going to clean up the place,” Trump said.

He also took a victory lap in front of the group over the passage of his landmark policy legislation this summer.

Because he got everything he wanted in the bill, Trump said “We don’t really need any other votes” this session.

“The bill is unbelievable," he said.

-ABC News' Isabelle Murray