Cook County Commissioner Calls for Federal Reimbursement Over Costs of Immigration Enforcement Operation (Chicago, IL) – Cook County Commissioner Bridget Degnen is calling on county departments and independently elected offices to document the financial and operational costs associated with the federal immigration enforcement effort known as “Operation Midway Blitz,” saying the information could support future reimbursement requests to the federal government.
During this week’s Cook County mid-year budget hearings, Degnen asked agencies to calculate expenses they say were directly tied to the federal operation, including overtime, emergency response, legal services, administrative work, public safety expenditures and other operational impacts.
According to Degnen, documenting those costs now will position Cook County to seek reimbursement for taxpayer-funded expenses incurred during the immigration enforcement effort.
“While reimbursement from the federal government will never undo the harm caused by Operation Midway Blitz, Cook County taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize the costs of an unprecedented and ill-conceived federal operation,” Degnen said in a statement. “The County incurred real and significant expenses in response to these actions, and our residents should not be left footing the bill.”
Throughout the hearings, Degnen asked county agencies to identify expenses they would not have incurred absent the federal operation. She said future reimbursement efforts could also include broader economic damages if appropriate.
“As we suffer through an affordability crisis, every dollar matters,” Degnen said. “We need to understand the financial impact this assault by the federal government had on County government. By compiling and preserving these documents, we will demand those dollars in return and renew our demand until we are made whole.”
The request comes after the Chicago City Council voted this week to place a referendum before voters asking whether the city should pursue compensation for costs associated with Operation Midway Blitz.
Degnen also cited a 2026 Brookings Institution analysis that estimated a recent increase in immigration enforcement contributed to approximately 668,000 lost jobs nationwide. According to the study, jurisdictions experiencing the largest increases in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests saw employment decline by an average of 0.73% below expected levels, with economic effects extending beyond those directly impacted by enforcement actions.
“The economic consequences extend far beyond those directly targeted,” Degnen said. “When businesses lose workers, customers stay home, projects are delayed, and local governments must respond to increased demands, entire communities bear the cost.”
While acknowledging that financial reimbursement would not undo the effects of the enforcement operation, Degnen said preserving documentation now would strengthen the county’s ability to pursue repayment in the future.
“Money cannot erase the trauma experienced by our communities,” she said. “But Cook County residents should not have to pay for the costs imposed by an out-of-control federal government. Preparing this accounting today puts us in the strongest possible position to recover taxpayer dollars tomorrow.”
Cook County Commissioner Calls for Federal Reimbursement Over Costs of Immigration Enforcement Operation
