Leaders in the west Chicago suburb of Broadview said federal immigration officials have contacted them, confirming a large-scale enforcement operation beginning soon.

"Federal officials have informed us that a large-scale enforcement campaign will soon be underway," Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson wrote in a letter to residents and business owners.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Beach Street — a brick building with barbed-wire fencing — will serve as the primary processing location for detainees, according to Thompson.

"This effort may draw protests and demonstrations, like those seen earlier this year in Los Angeles, where property damage and assaults against law enforcement were reported. As a result, we will be working closely with all businesses along Beach Drive to alert them to the possibility of traffic disruptions that may affect employees and deliveries over the next 45 to 60 days," Thompson wrote.

Thompson said the village is working with neighboring police departments, Illinois State Police, and the Cook County Sheriff's office "to ensure safety and order are maintained."

The ICE building sits along train tracks on a dead-end street. But homes are on the other side of the tracks, which is why the village is alerting residents of the possible traffic issues and protests.

On Wednesday night, crews boarded up the building.

The facility was the target of a protest on Sunday, as demonstrators called for the closure of the ICE office in Broadview.

The protest was held amid continued threats by the Trump administration to send federal troops to Chicago and set up immigration enforcement.

This all comes as President Trump still holds the threat of bringing federal troops into Chicago.

"We could straighten out Chicago," President Trump said. "All they have to do is ask us to go into Chicago."

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Wednesday that he will not call the president, because if President Trump sends the National Guard to Chicago, Pritzker will sue — and a phone call could be used as evidence by the Trump administration as some sort of appeal for help.

"The president is begging me to call him to ask him to do something that we don't want. He wants me to call him and ask him to call in the National Guard to the city of Chicago. We don't want it," Pritzker said. "So that's why I'm not calling the president."  

President Trump threatened to have immigration agents arrest undocumented people in Chicago. He said National Guard troops would take over the streets of Chicago like they did in Washington, D.C., for what Mr. Trump called "crime that's out of control."

"He's ignoring states with Republican leadership where crime is even worse — Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas — I mean, we can go through a long list of them," said U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois)

However, one day after President Trump said "we're going in" to Chicago, he scaled back his remarks — now saying he is not definite about Chicago, and is instead talking of moving troops down south to New Orleans.

"We're going to be going to maybe Louisiana. We have New Orleans, which has a crime problem," President Trump said Wednesday. "We'll straighten that out in about two weeks."

But for now, the immigration center in Broadview is prepared for whatever the orders.

"It looks like they're going to be fully assembled on Friday," Pritzker said. "It doesn't mean they're going to be in action on Friday, although that could happen."

Until then, residents and business owners in Broadview join the waiting list to see how their day-to-day lives might change.

Village officials released a statement Thursday, writing, "The Village of Broadview is coordinating with our neighboring law enforcement partners, the Illinois State Police, and the Cook County Sheriff's Police to ensure safety and order are maintained in our community as ICE's operations unfold. Additionally, because Broadview respects the rule of law, we will defend the constitutionally protected right to peaceful protest and will accept no interference with that right. Simultaneously, we will reject any illegal behavior that puts Broadview police officers' safety or the safety of local businesses and residents at risk."