Dr. Phil films as ICE targets migrants in Chicago

The TV host known as “Dr.Phil” embedded with US 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 US 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 US 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 US 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 form...