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Television host Dr Phil has joined US federal agents on an operation amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on unauthorised migrants.
Phil McGraw, the psychologist and media figure known for his long-running TV show, followed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on Sunday in an operation in Chicago.
In a post on X, McGraw said that ICE attempted to detain 270 “high-value targets”.
McGraw suggested it was a targeted operation and was not a mass roundup.
“They’re not sweeping neighbourhoods like people are trying to imply,” he said.
McGraw, who spoke at a Trump campaign event last October, was joined by the president’s head of ICE and “border czar” Tim Homan during the Chicago operation.
McGraw interviewed Homan and livestreamed the Chicago operation on his multiplatform TV network MERIT TV.
The media figure and Homan also questioned Sam Seda, a Thai national who openly admitted he is not a citizen.
Seda told McGraw he knew him from television.
When McGraw asked if he had ever been deported before, Seda replied, “No” — before saying he had “been in the system before”.
When the media figure asked if he was a citizen, he replied, “My mum’s a citizen.”
ICE spokesman Jeff Carter said the agency “began conducting enhanced targeted operations” on Sunday in Chicago but declined other details.
Inviting a celebrity guest to the Chicago operations was frustrating to Illinois Attorney-General Kwame Raoul, a Democrat, who told CNN his office has not received any notice about the arrests despite working with federal law enforcement in the past.
“I think it’s done for the show, and I think it’s done to upset community and to score political points with those who want to divide,” Raoul said.
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Chicago residents, especially in immigrant circles, have already been on edge for months in anticipation of large-scale arrests touted by the Trump administration.
The atmosphere has been especially tense the past week as top Trump officials vowed to start immigration enforcement operations in Chicago the day after Trump’s inauguration before walking back those statements.
Nearly 1000 people were arrested across the US over the weekend after ICE launched a series of enforcement actions targeting undocumented immigrants.
In addition to Chicago, the actions were carried out in Atlanta, Puerto Rico, Los Angeles, Austin Texas and Colorado.
– With Associated Press, CNN
