Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security announced that the scores of federal agents deployed in and around Chicago the last several weeks were responsible for a “historic drop in crime” in Chicago.

“Since initiating Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago, homicides decreased 16%, shootings decreased 35%, robberies decreased 41%, vehicular carjackings decreased 48%, and transit crime decreased 20%,” wrote assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a DHS press release.

“It’s common sense—when you remove the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from our country—crime rates plummet,” McLaughlin wrote.

But it’s unclear if that’s true, as DHS did not respond to WBEZ’s requests for clarification.

Without additional information about how the numbers were calculated, what periods

See Full Page