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Tag: operation midway blitz

  • Illinois officials launch investigation into landlord’s role in South Shore raid

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    Nearly four months after the high-profile immigration raid of a South Shore apartment complex, Illinois officials are launching an investigation into claims that the building’s managers played a role in what became one of the most infamous moments of Operation Midway Blitz.

    The Illinois Department of Human Rights on Wednesday filed a housing discrimination charge alleging the owner and management of 7500 South Shore Drive prompted the September raid by telling the federal government there were Venezuelan immigrants living in the complex without authorization.

    IDHR, in its charge filing, goes on to allege building managers tipped off federal officials to “intimidate and coerce the building’s Black and Hispanic tenants into leaving their apartment units, based on stereotypes toward Venezuelan immigrants.”

    Three weeks into Midway Blitz — the Trump administration’s local mass deportation campaign last fall and early winter — agents dressed for combat rappelled from helicopters onto the roof of 7500 South Shore Drive. They broke through windows and stormed inside, where they crashed through doors and placed residents in zip ties and on buses or in the back of box trucks. Many Venezuelan migrants lived in the building and were taken in the raid.

    Officials said at the time the operation was meant to target Tren de Aragua gang members. The Tribune reported exclusively in October that no public criminal charges had been filed against anyone in connection with the raid.

    Meanwhile, the operation exacerbated a housing complex already in crisis, as deteriorating living conditions had plagued the building long before the agents arrived. Two months after the raid, the Circuit Court of Cook County issued an order mandating that any tenants remaining — who had formed a union in the wake of the operation — vacate the building by early December.

    Despite a last-minute plea for more time, residents were forced to pack.

    Last week, former resident Samantha Stamps, who police said had been experiencing homelessness since facing eviction, was reported missing, though family has since posted on social media that Stamps was found and receiving care in the hospital.

    IDHR’s complaint was filed against 7500 Shore A LLC, Trinity Flood and Strength in Management LLC, who own and manage the building.

    An attorney for 7500 Shore A LLC could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday night. The Department of Homeland Security also did not immediately return a request for comment.

    Among the allegations made in its charge, IDHR states federal agents “forcibly removed Black and Hispanic tenants from their apartments, detained and separated tenants based on their race, ancestry, and national origin.”

    Residents, speaking with the Tribune after the raid, recalled witnessing agents leading zip-tied people to separate buses that night: one for migrants and one for Black people. The department also alleges that agents destroyed tenants’ belongings and “rendered their residences uninhabitable,” adding that within hours of the raid, workers employed or contracted with building management were “tossing tenants’ belongings in the trash and clearing out units vacated by the raid.”

    IDHR further maintains in its filing that building management “perpetuated stereotypes about Venezuelan gang members to send a message that tenants born outside of the United States were considered gang associates, even if they were law-abiding.”

    In the aftermath of the raid, it was unclear how many, if any, of the 37 people ultimately detained were gang members or associates.

    IDHR charges that the alleged tip to federal officials was a pretext for discrimination against Venezuelan tenants and resulted in agents “terrorizing” the entire 130-unit building.

    “All tenants of 7500 S Shore, even those who were not Venezuelan, were predictably harmed by these discriminatory practices,” IDHR’s charging document reads.

    Gov. JB Pritzker, in a statement, said of the charge, “These allegations of housing discrimination raise serious concerns for people struggling to maintain housing – and the communities that have been profiled and relentlessly targeted by the federal government during its violent immigration enforcement operations.”

    The department-initiated charge does not mean that IDHR has already investigated or made any findings as to the alleged discrimination, the department stated in a news release announcing the filing. Rather, the charge just marks the start of a formal investigation. Should IDHR find evidence of discrimination, the department may file a complaint with the Illinois Human Rights Commission on behalf of those living in 7500 South Shore Drive at the time of the raid.

    “The conduct alleged in this matter reflects more than isolated harm,” IDHR director Jim Bennett said in a statement. “It describes a pattern of intimidation that reverberates through our communities.”

    He added, “Illinois law is clear. Every person within our state is entitled to freedom from housing discrimination and to the protection of their dignity, rights, and personal safety.”

    tkenny@chicagotribune.com

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    Tess Kenny

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  • Chicago activists share blueprint for resisting Border Patrol: ‘Chicago clearly is front and center’

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    It’s a story repeating itself: Border Patrol agents flooding immigrant neighborhoods, showing dramatic force, storming Home Depot parking lots and preying on people at courthouses. 

    Those arrests erupted in Chicago. Then they were 750 miles away in Charlotte, North Carolina. And they will keep roving across the country. 

    But no matter where they go, Chicagoans will try to stop them. 

    As President Donald Trump’s ramped-up Border Patrol action hits city after city, Chicago’s immigration-focused community organizers are following. They aim to pass on what they learned to foster pushback in Operation Midway Blitz.

    The resistance effort, which was backed by top elected officials in Illinois, provides a blueprint for immigration activists nationwide: lawsuits, whistles, cellphone cameras and more.

    Chicago’s immigration advocacy groups, which played an integral role organizing on-the-ground rapid responders, are now sharing their information nationwide. 

    Veronica Castro, deputy director at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said she has been in at least half a dozen calls with organizations, mutual aid groups and government entities outside of Chicago, including Boston and North Carolina on best ways to prepare for immigration enforcement. 

    “We definitely want to share information with other folks,” she said. Earlier in the year, Castro and her team reached out to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., to prepare for the immigration crackdown in Chicago and is now circling back to them to “compare notes.”

    Casa Central, a Hispanic social services agency in Chicago, is planning a conference call with 304 invited affiliates of Unidos US to discuss rapid response tactics and insights from immigration enforcement in Chicago, according to Unidos’ director of immigrant integration, Laura Vázquez.

    The call will feature information on the long-lasting humanitarian impact of what happens to family members after some of them, often the primary income earners, are detained, said Vázquez.

    “There is tremendous value in bringing people together so organizations can learn lessons and effective tactics,” said Vázquez, who noted interest went beyond North Carolina, from New Orleans to New York City, where threats of similar immigration operations loom.

    The federal action centered in Charlotte last week, where Trump’s Border Patrol chief, Gregory Bovino, led a weeklong arrest spree that quickly started after agents left Chicago.

    Pooja Ravindran, who lived for a decade in North Carolina and is now chief of staff for Chicago City Council’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights, once again couldn’t look away as the arrests hushed cherished hometown bakeries, coffee shops and an elementary school in Charlotte. 

    Ravindran has met online around 10 times with groups in Charlotte to present tactics learned organizing alongside Ald. Andre Vásquez, the committee’s chair.  

    “I can’t be at all places at once, I can’t be in all of the areas where I call home to prep everyone,” Ravindran said. “To see the resistance, but also the devastation, there is just a whirlwind of emotions.” 

    Inside Chicago’s growing resistance movement against Operation Midway Blitz: ‘Small acts have huge consequences’

    Earlier this week, Protect Rogers Park community organizer Gabe González said he planned to travel to Charlotte, where he was set to speak with hundreds to try to pass the information baton. 

    “We learned from Los Angeles and D.C. and it’s our turn to share what we learned with the cities facing it now,” said González, co-founder of Protect Rogers Park. 

    Just as González was preparing to discuss safe resistance techniques with the North Carolina crowd, Border Patrol reportedly ended its operations in Charlotte dubbed “Charlotte’s Web.” But González is skeptical that the actions will truly end.

    “Today it’s in Charlotte, tomorrow it might be in New Orleans, and in March it might be back in Chicago,” said González, who is also in touch with community organizers in New Orleans and Memphis, Tennessee.

    Chicago’s top elected leaders have gotten involved too, from the City Hall to Springfield. 

    Gov. JB Pritzker spoke to North Carolina’s Gov. Josh Stein about dealing with masked federal agents, tear gas deployment and documenting activity when rights were being violated, his office said in a statement. 

    The governor has stayed in touch with California, Oregon and other states in an effort to “push back against these authoritarian power grabs and curb normalizing the militarization of American communities,” the statement said.

    On Friday, Beatriz Ponce de León, Chicago’s deputy mayor for immigrant, migrant and refugee rights, met with leaders in St. Paul, Minnesota, where federal agents arrested over a dozen people Tuesday at a manufacturing plant. 

    Ponce de León shared strategies Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration has used to push back, like lawsuits, executive orders and close collaboration with community groups.

    “Chicago clearly is front and center in the response to these militarized immigration tactics,” she said. “We are all in this together … Why would we not share what we learned?” 

    When other cities reach out, Ponce de León often offers advice she got from people in Washington, D.C.: “This is a moment to be very clear and bold and not to shrink away.” 

    The quick response from Charlotte community groups to respond to and document arrests occurred in part because of what people there learned from Chicago, she said. And someday, the connections made by City Hall now could shape its own response if federal agents return en masse. 

    “As the federal actions evolve, we all have to evolve and be as prepared as possible to maintain and to protect the things that are important to us and to our cities,” she said. 

    West Chicago brothers are on the front lines against ‘Operation Midway Blitz.’ And they’re only teenagers.

    At the online meetings Ravindran helps organize, other cities are getting everything from advice on how to fight for more legal protection funds in budgets to tweakable scheduling documents for volunteer patrols outside schools.  

    “People were just so grateful that they didn’t have to think about protocol,” Ravindran said. “This documentation has created the opportunity for them to spend more time doing the actual recruitment of folks.” 

    It was an emotional homecoming for Ravindran, who first engaged in community organizing as a University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill student and then continued that work in Charlotte. 

    But the incremental progress does not erase what Ravindran has witnessed in one home, then another. 

    “It’s really hard to see, the detentions in your community, over and over again.”

    Chicago Tribune’s Olivia Olander contributed.

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    Laura Turbay, Jake Sheridan

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  • Texas National Guard departs Illinois

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    The Texas National Guard has departed Illinois, ending a futile 41-day deployment in which its soldiers spent less than 24 hours working in support of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation mission.

    The troops, who had been living at a U.S. Army Reserve training center in southwest suburban Elwood, left the facility around 1 p.m. Monday, according to a memorandum obtained by the Tribune. Additionally, any military personnel not permanently assigned to the Elwood facility would leave the site by Friday, the memo stated.

    In the memo, which was sent to local government officials on Monday, an official with Homeland Operations, 88th Readiness Division in Fort Sheridan, wrote that the “status of forces at the Joliet Local Training Area (JLTA), Elwood” had changed.

    As of 1 p.m., “all Soldiers that were utilizing the JLTA for living accommodations have departed the property. All established support requirements with your agencies beyond your normal scope of duties may cease at this time. There will still be a small element providing access control while contracted entities remove their equipment,” the memorandum stated. “Currently there is no definitive timetable for when the contractor will complete this action, however the Task Force Commander has directed that Friday will be the last day for any Military Personnel not permanently assigned to the Elwood Reserve center to be on site.”

    The departure marks yet another sign that Operation Midway Blitz — the name given to Trump’s immigration crackdown — is winding down.

    Last week, the Tribune reported Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino, the top official on the ground leading the Trump administration’s efforts, was soon departing Chicago for another assignment, and most of the agents under this command were redeploying elsewhere. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security closed its command center at Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, ending a more than two-month stay there.

    About 200 Texas National Guard members arrived in the Chicago area last month over the repeated objections of Illinois officials, who rejected Trump’s pledge to deploy the military domestically in response to heated protests here. The California National Guard also had troops temporarily assigned to the area.

    The Guard members, however, spent only one day protecting a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Broadview before a federal judge blocked their deployment. The judge, however, allowed the out-of-state troops to remain at the Elwood training center, where they lived in mobile bunks and could be seen practicing drills during the day.

    A week after arriving, the Texas National Guard sent home seven soldiers whose fitness levels seemingly “did not meet mission requirements” for their deployment. The decision came after some soldiers were ridiculed on social media for their physical appearance upon their arrival in Illinois. Widely circulated media photographs showed heavier guardsmen at the Elwood base, prompting critics to question how the troops fit in with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s insistence that all military members must meet height and weight standards.

    The troops’ stay was otherwise uneventful, as underscored by the memorandum sent to local government agencies Monday.

    “I would like to thank all of you on behalf of the United States Army Reserve Homeland Operations Division for your support over the last 2 months in helping make the living area safe by providing emergency response functions and services, traffic mitigation, and decontamination coordination,” wrote Joseph Arne, an emergency management specialist with Homeland Operations. “There wasn’t ever a moment where the Task Force was concerned for Soldier safety knowing your organizations were on stand-by.”

    It’s unclear how the troop departures will affect the ongoing legal battle between Illinois and the Trump administration, as the issue is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

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    Alicia Fabbre, Jeremy Gorner

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  • Chicago day care teacher arrested by ICE released: ‘I am so grateful’

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    Federal agents released preschool teacher Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano on Wednesday night, freeing the beloved local educator whose arrest at a North Center day care made international news.

    Diana Santillana Galeano, who was detained by federal agents at Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center on the North Side of Chicago. (Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym., Ltd.)

    Santillana will return to Rayito De Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center on Friday morning, where members of the community have rallied to show her support

    “I am so grateful to everyone who has advocated on my behalf, and on behalf of the countless others who have experienced similar trauma over recent months in the Chicago area,” Santillana Galeano said in a statement released by her lawyers. “I love our community and the children I teach, and I can’t wait to see them again.”

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released her after a federal judge ruled that her mandatory detention without bond was illegal.

    Santillana’s case has generated widespread backlash. In a video circulated online, federal agents are seen pulling the screaming woman, a mother of two from Colombia, through the glass vestibule at the Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center in North Center, in the early morning hours of Nov. 5.

    School officials said Santillana, who cares for infants, had authorization to work in the day care and had undergone a background check. An agent did not present a warrant when he entered the building, the school’s staff said.

    In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents targeted her in a traffic stop as she and an unidentified male passenger were driving early Wednesday.

    It said she illegally entered the U.S. on June 26, 2023, and “was encountered by Border Patrol,” and that “the Biden administration released her into the U.S.”

    However, questions remain whether the woman had been targeted prior to the traffic stop.

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    Gregory Royal Pratt

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  • Immigration agents have detained dozens of US citizens

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    During a press conference about a Midwestern immigration enforcement operation, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said federal agents have not detained U.S. citizens. 

    Chicago, the center of the effort dubbed Operation Midway Blitz, is the latest target in the Trump administration’s nationwide immigration crackdown. Agents have arrested more than 3,000 people during the operation. Noem said the effort covers the area “that the field office is covering,” and local news outlets reported that the Chicago Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office also includes Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kentucky and Kansas.

    “There’s no American citizens have been arrested or detained. We focus on those that are here illegally” Noem said during the Oct. 30 press conference in Gary, Indiana. “And anything that you would hear or report that would be different than that is simply not true and false reporting.”

    Noem didn’t say whether she was referring to Operation Midway Blitz specifically or the nationwide immigration crackdown more broadly, and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to our questions about her statement. 

    By either measure, Noem’s wrong. News reports and lawsuits show that U.S. citizens have been detained during Operation Midway Blitz, and a ProPublica investigation documented 170 cases of U.S. citizens who have been arrested by immigration agents across the country since Trump started his second term. 

    Homeland Security addressed such reports in an Oct. 1 statement: “We have said it a million times: ICE does NOT arrest or deport U.S. citizens.”

    But DHS has also released several statements and posted on social media explaining why U.S. citizens have been detained or arrested.

    Here are some examples.

    Several U.S. citizens in Chicago say they’ve been arrested by immigration agents

    The detentions and arrests of U.S. citizens during Operation Midway Blitz have included people who DHS said were obstructing law enforcement, and people who were released after showing proof of U.S. citizenship. 

    Journalists in Chicago sued the Trump administration saying federal agents have illegally stopped, detained and “arrested hundreds of people, including many citizens.” 

    The suit names Steve Held, a U.S. citizen who the lawsuit says was arrested and later released without charges.

    Another lawsuit details the detention of U.S. citizen Julio Noriega, who said he was taken into custody by federal immigration agents and held overnight in an ICE processing facility. Immigration officers released Noriega after looking in his wallet and seeing his identification.

    Noriega is among 22 people the American Civil Liberties Union is representing against the Trump administration, alleging unlawful arrests and detentions by ICE. Immigration agents failed to properly verify Noriega’s citizenship and did not document his arrest, the lawsuit says.

    Federal immigration agents also detained Debbie Brockman, a U.S. citizen who works for a Chicago TV station, before releasing her. 

    “Deborah Brockman, a U.S. citizen, threw objects at Border Patrol’s car,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told CNN after video of Brockman’s arrest went viral. Brockman was released without charges and denies wrongdoing, and witnesses have disputed the DHS account.

    ICE has arrested U.S. citizens across the country

    The detention of U.S. citizens hasn’t been restricted to Operation Midway Blitz. 

    In New Mexico, Border Patrol arrested Jose Hermosillo in April and kept him in custody for about 10 days. DHS said Hermosillo answered “yes” when officers asked if he was in the U.S. illegally.

    Agents released Hermosilo after his family produced a birth certificate and Social Security documentation and a federal judge dismissed a criminal case against him. Hermosillo’s parents told CBS News that their son has an intellectual disability and can’t read or write.

    In Florida, Juan Carlos Lopez Gomez, a 20-year-old born in Georgia, was arrested after a traffic stop and briefly held on charges tied to a Florida immigration law. The charges were dismissed after his mother presented his birth certificate, state ID and Social Security card.

    During an immigration raid in Hawthorne, California, ICE agents detained pregnant citizen Cary López Alvarado, releasing her later that day. 

    “Cary Lopez was arrested because she obstructed federal law enforcement by blocking access to a car that had two Guatemalan illegal aliens in it,” McLaughlin told NBC News. 

    In Alabama, Leonardo Garcia Venegas said he was working at a construction site when masked agents entered the area, according to ProPublica. When his undocumented brother asked to see a warrant, Garcia Venegas started recording on his phone. 

    He kept filming until officers turned on him. In the footage, agents try to take him down as he shouts, “I’m a citizen!” They pulled out his Alabama REAL ID — which is issued only to legal residents — but dismissed it as fake, according to ProPublica. 

    Garcia Venegas was handcuffed and held for more than an hour before being released. His brother, who is not a U.S. citizen, was later deported. 

    Our ruling

    Noem said “No American citizens have been arrested or detained” during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns.

    That’s wrong. 

    Lawsuits, news reports and DHS statements show that numerous U.S. citizens have been detained or arrested by immigration agents in and around Chicago during Operation Midway Blitz. A ProPublica investigation documented 170 cases of federal immigration officers detaining U.S. citizens nationwide under the Trump administration.

    We rate Noem’s statement Pants on Fire! ​

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  • Students walk out of Little Village schools, hold march in protest of recent ICE activity

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    Barbers paused haircuts to look out windows and bakers in aprons peered out doorways along West 26th Street in Little Village to the sounds of whistles and chants from young voices echoing down the street.

    Since the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz began in September, whistles have been used as warnings that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is nearby. But on Tuesday, the whistle-blowing coincided with students carrying Mexican flags and signs during a staged walkout of local schools.

    In an over 2-mile walk, hundreds of students made their way from Little Village Lawndale High School to the La Villita or Little Village Arch, denouncing recent ICE action and supporting immigrant communities.

    Immigration enforcement descended on Little Village last week, resulting in multiple people being taken into custody. The sobering effect the arrival of federal officers had on the community inspired the walkout, student organizer and Social Justice High School senior Lia Sophia Lopez said.

    “They hurt us like they’ve never hurt us before. They attacked our community, they surrounded the parks, they surrounded our school, I’ve never felt more unsafe in my life than that day,” Lopez said. “We need to protect our people’s peace. We need to protect their freedom and dignity. Because if we don’t, no one else will.”

    Lopez and other students organized the walkout, which included her peers from the four schools on Little Village Lawndale High School’s campus – Multicultural Academy of Scholarship High School, World Language High School, Greater Lawndale High School for Social Justice, and Infinity Math, Science, and Technology High School.

    Students from the Little Village Lawndale High School campus march along West 26th Street to protest recent immigration enforcement actions in the area, Oct. 28, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

    With less than a week of planning, Lopez said she was pleased with the large turnout and made sure her fellow students knew the risks of protesting, including the presence of federal agents, telling them “they will not stop because you are children” and “they do not care,” she said.

    Still, fear did not stop students accompanied by Chicago police officers as they moved along the route. Chants of “say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here,” and “the people united, will never be divided” drew honks from cars stopped along the marchers’ path.

    The march through the village drew people to the sidewalks, cheering and blowing whistles in solidarity with students as they passed. Others hung out of windows that overlooked the streets or pressed themselves against storefront windows, smiling and recording. The community engagement was not lost on Lopez, who said her “beautiful, vibrant home” has gone quiet amid the recent federal action.

    “I’ve seen so many people come out and smiling and feeling safe, which is something we haven’t felt in months. And that’s what I want. That is all I want,” Lopez said. “This protest was just for us to get peace, to be able to walk down the street again without being scared, to be able to live your life.”

    For Lopez, protesting was worth whatever potential consequences. When her peers and family expressed concerns, she pushed back.

    “I said to them, I don’t care if I get expelled, I don’t care if I get detained. … I will do this for my people, for my community, because they deserve it,” Lopez said. “They deserve people to speak out for them. They deserve people to show the love and appreciation that they give to us and to our students, Social Justice and Little Village Lawndale High School as a whole.”

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    Kate Perez

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  • Top Border Patrol official due in court to answer questions about Chicago immigration crackdown

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    A senior Border Patrol official who has become the face of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles and Chicago is due in court Tuesday to take questions about the enforcement operation in the Chicago area, which has produced more than 1,800 arrests and complaints of excessive force.The hearing comes after a judge earlier this month ordered uniformed immigration agents to wear body cameras, the latest step in a lawsuit by news outlets and protesters who say federal agents used excessive force, including using tear gas, during protests against immigration operations.Greg Bovino, chief of the Border Patrol sector in El Centro, California, one of nine sectors on the Mexican border, is himself accused of throwing tear gas canisters at protesters.U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis initially said agents must wear badges, and she banned them from using certain riot control techniques against peaceful protesters and journalists. She later said she was concerned agents were not following her order after seeing footage of street confrontations involving tear gas during the administration’s Operation Midway Blitz, and she modified the order to also require body cameras.Ellis last week extended questioning of Bovino from two hours to five because she wants to hear about agents’ recent use of force in the city’s Mexican enclave of Little Village. During an enforcement operation last week in Little Village and the adjacent suburb of Cicero, at least eight people, including four U.S. citizens, were detained before protesters gathered at the scene, local officials said.The attorneys representing a coalition of news outlets and protesters claim Bovino himself violated the order in Little Village and filed a still image of video footage where he was allegedly “throwing tear gas into a crowd without justification.”Over the weekend, masked federal agents and unmarked SUVs were spotted on the city’s wealthier, predominantly white North side neighborhoods of Lakeview and Lincoln Park, where footage showed chemical agents deployed on a residential street. Federal agents have been seen and videotaped deploying tear gas in residential streets a number of times over the past few weeks.Bovino also led the immigration operation in Los Angeles in recent months, leading to thousands of arrests. Agents smashed car windows, blew open a door to a house and patrolled MacArthur Park on horseback. In Chicago, similar Border Patrol operations have led to viral footage of tense confrontations with protesters.At a previous hearing, Ellis questioned Kyle Harvick, deputy incident commander with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Shawn Byers, deputy field office director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, about their agencies’ use of force policies and the distribution of body cameras. Harvick said there are about 200 Border Patrol employees in the Chicago area, and those who are part of Operation Midway Blitz have cameras. But Byers said more money from Congress would be needed to expand camera use beyond two of that agency’s field offices.

    CHICAGO —

    A senior Border Patrol official who has become the face of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles and Chicago is due in court Tuesday to take questions about the enforcement operation in the Chicago area, which has produced more than 1,800 arrests and complaints of excessive force.

    The hearing comes after a judge earlier this month ordered uniformed immigration agents to wear body cameras, the latest step in a lawsuit by news outlets and protesters who say federal agents used excessive force, including using tear gas, during protests against immigration operations.

    Greg Bovino, chief of the Border Patrol sector in El Centro, California, one of nine sectors on the Mexican border, is himself accused of throwing tear gas canisters at protesters.

    U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis initially said agents must wear badges, and she banned them from using certain riot control techniques against peaceful protesters and journalists. She later said she was concerned agents were not following her order after seeing footage of street confrontations involving tear gas during the administration’s Operation Midway Blitz, and she modified the order to also require body cameras.

    Ellis last week extended questioning of Bovino from two hours to five because she wants to hear about agents’ recent use of force in the city’s Mexican enclave of Little Village. During an enforcement operation last week in Little Village and the adjacent suburb of Cicero, at least eight people, including four U.S. citizens, were detained before protesters gathered at the scene, local officials said.

    The attorneys representing a coalition of news outlets and protesters claim Bovino himself violated the order in Little Village and filed a still image of video footage where he was allegedly “throwing tear gas into a crowd without justification.”

    Over the weekend, masked federal agents and unmarked SUVs were spotted on the city’s wealthier, predominantly white North side neighborhoods of Lakeview and Lincoln Park, where footage showed chemical agents deployed on a residential street. Federal agents have been seen and videotaped deploying tear gas in residential streets a number of times over the past few weeks.

    Bovino also led the immigration operation in Los Angeles in recent months, leading to thousands of arrests. Agents smashed car windows, blew open a door to a house and patrolled MacArthur Park on horseback. In Chicago, similar Border Patrol operations have led to viral footage of tense confrontations with protesters.

    At a previous hearing, Ellis questioned Kyle Harvick, deputy incident commander with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Shawn Byers, deputy field office director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, about their agencies’ use of force policies and the distribution of body cameras. Harvick said there are about 200 Border Patrol employees in the Chicago area, and those who are part of Operation Midway Blitz have cameras. But Byers said more money from Congress would be needed to expand camera use beyond two of that agency’s field offices.

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  • Facebook removes Chicago-area page dedicated to ICE sightings after Justice Department intervenes

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    A Facebook group that shared information on sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the Chicago area was taken down by Meta following pressure from the Justice Department, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

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    Lauryn Azu

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  • Broadview village leaders condemn ICE presence in suburb and threats of greater enforcement actions

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    Following weeks of increasingly tense protests at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in suburban Broadview, village officials on Saturday said ICE was retaliating against the suburb and its residents because the mayor asked the federal agency to stop “making war on my community.”

    In a statement released Saturday morning, village officials urged residents to stay out of harm’s way and “take all necessary precautions to protect themselves and their families” from ICE.

    The statement followed a letter sent Friday by Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson to a Department of Homeland Security field office director that said ICE was endangering residents, police officers, firefighters and “American citizens exercising” their First Amendment rights as ICE repeatedly deployed tear gas, pepper spray and baton rounds during protests outside the ICE facility on Beach Street.

    “In retaliation for the village of Broadview yesterday calling on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency to ‘stop making war on our community,’ ICE agents this morning informed the Broadview Police Department that there will be ‘a sh*t show’ in Broadview today,” the statement on Saturday said. “ICE agents told the BFD that they will be launching enforcement action throughout all of Broadview throughout the day.”

    The National Lawyers Guild of Chicago confirmed at least 11 people were arrested Saturday, including a journalist. As of Sunday morning, five people remained in federal custody, according to an NLG statement. The organization said the Saturday arrests brought the total number of people detained at protests outside the suburban facility to 28 since Sept. 19.

    Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media that she would deploy federal agents to ICE facilities throughout the country, including Broadview, and that if you “so much as touch one of our federal officers, you will go to prison.”

    Amid the “escalating language and actions by ICE and DHS,” a group of elected officials urged protestors not to show up to the facility Saturday night and, if they did, to show extra caution.

    “There are also significant physical safety risks to protesters. ICE has escalated their use of tear gas, pepper rounds and rubber bullets, shooting protesters and members of the press in the face without provocation on numerous occasions,” said Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, State Sen. Robert Peters and Ald. Andre Vasquez in a joint statement.

    Gov. JB Pritzker also released a statement saying the Trump administration was “intentionally creating chaos to threaten sending military troops to American cities and suburbs.” He said the indiscriminate use of tear gas and pepper spray is “unacceptable.”

    “Illinois will always defend Americans’ right to peacefully protest and make their voices heard. We denounce any violence against the general public, members of the media, and law enforcement or first responders,” he said. “Even when the Trump Administration does not follow the law, we will.”

    Protesters have held near-daily demonstrations at the ICE facility since DHS announced earlier this month it was launching “Operation Midway Blitz” to ramp up enforcement actions targeting immigrants lacking permanent legal status. On Friday, federal agents fired tear gas and baton rounds at protesters, continuing a trend of events that have become increasingly physical between officials and demonstrators.

    Tensions have also risen between Broadview officials and ICE. Within the last week, federal officials denied reports that ICE was planning to vacate the two-story brick building and instead installed fencing that blocks part of the road outside of the facility. While DHS has argued the fence is for public safety, village officials have said it was “illegally built” because it was installed without a permit and that the fencing prevents emergency personnel from accessing parts of the suburb.

    “You have to dismantle the fence,” Thompson wrote in the Friday letter to DHS Field Office Director Russell Hott, who is based in Virginia. “You have to stop putting our residents, our police officers, our firefighters, and our citizens in harm’s way. As mayor, my governing approach is to deploy love and kindness to achieve Broadview’s objectives. You should try it. It cannot hurt. It might help.”

    Village officials said in response to the letter, ICE made the comments to the Broadview police about launching more enforcement actions throughout the suburb, according to the Saturday statement. Agents also plan to deploy chemical arms again Saturday, including tear gas and pepper spray, ICE warned the Fire Department, the village officials said in the statement.

    “Let’s be clear. ICE is seeking to intimidate the village of Broadview because we dared exercise our 1st Amendment constitutional rights calling for an end to their war on Broadview,” the statement said. “We will not be intimidated. We are Broadview strong.”

    Rebecca Johnson contributed to this report.

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  • Anti-ICE protests continue at Broadview facility, downtown Chicago as federal presence grows

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    BROADVIEW, Ill. (WLS) — There was an amplified presence of federal agents Saturday in Broadview after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on social media that the Trump administration was directing more resources to Chicago.

    It appeared that Border Patrol has taken over operations at the west suburban ICE facility, and they were quick to detain several protesters throughout the evening while firing off pepper bullets to disperse the crowds.

    Demonstrators have been protesting against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement blitz happening across the Chicago area.

    ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

    The developments came after the village said in a statement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents told officials in Broadview they would launch enforcement throughout the west suburb on Saturday.

    The village says ICE agents told Broadview police that there will be a “s*** show” in the area and that federal officers will deploy chemicals again.

    In a statement, Broadview said this is all in retaliation to the village calling on ICE to “stop making war on our community.”

    “Let’s be clear. ICE is seeking to intimidate the Village of Broadview because we dared exercise our 1st Amendment constitutional rights calling for an end to their war on Broadview. We will not be intimidated. We are Broadview strong,” the village said in a statement, in part.

    Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement, saying, “This is made up. Our law enforcement enforces the rule of law. Period.”

    RELATED | Broadview police chief says he was verbally attacked by ICE agent; mayor criticizes ICE in letter

    The continued protests Saturday at the Broadview ICE facility came after Friday night’s standoff between demonstrators and federal agents.

    Some local organizations held a press conference in the afternoon, continuing to speak out against the operations going on there. The Revolutionary Black Panther Party is one of the organizations that spoke.

    There have been contentious moments the last couple of days, including the use of pepper bullets and other crowd controlling measures from DHS agents. Many of the protesters there Saturday have been the same people showing up to the facility every day, and they say that those tactics from ICE will not deter them from continuing to protest.

    Throughout the day agents chased down some protesters and detained them while also coming out to take any kind of shields or umbrellas from the crowd. Protesters believe the use of force has gone too far.

    “We oppose this kind of authoritarianism that is invading our city and suburbs,” community activist Andy Thayer said. “It’s not helping anyone.”

    After several escalations between protesters and federal agents over the last few weeks in Broadview, Attorney General Bondi says there will be no tolerance moving forward.

    “More than 200 violent rioters were at a Chicago ICE facility chanting ‘Arrest ICE. Shoot ICE,’” Bondi said in a video posted to X. “At least one had a gun. We’ve seen this before. We saw it in Portland and the LA riots. These are not peaceful protests. These are coordinated attacks by radical extremists, and they end now.”

    Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino also arrived to the Broadview facility Friday. He did not answer questions from reporters as he led operations on the ground.

    Crowd-controlling measures like pepper bullets were deployed several times in an attempt to push protesters back.

    Local immigration lawyer Louise Carhart was apart of the crowd. She says the federal agencies do not belong there.

    “All of these agencies are funded by tax payer dollars and they’re being deputized for things they are not authorized to do,” Carhart said. “That’s a misuse of public funds, and I think protesters have every right to be out here.”

    Also on the scene Saturday were a few opposition protesters, who say they stand with ICE and believe this is what Illinois needs right now.

    Anti-ICE protesters in Chicago also gathered Saturday in the Loop, sending a similar message to the Trump administration. They rallied at Federal Plaza and marched a bit through downtown, with chants and signs standing up against ICE operations.

    SEE ALSO | Chicago federal intervention: Tracking surge in immigration enforcement operations | Live updates

    Officers used chemical agents multiple times in an effort to disperse the crowds on Friday in Broadview, and federal authorities said of the people arrested had a gun.

    Elias Cepeda, a volunteer with Pilsen Defense and Access, is seen in this video posted to Instagram right before his arrest. The 41-year-old has joined other protesters at the facility for weeks.

    His mother says her son is a legal Concealed-Carry License holder and is demanding his release while other demonstrators shared their account of his arrest.

    DHS commented on Cepeda’s arrest and the discovery of his firearm, writing in a post to X, in part, “This is transpiring just a few days after the horrific terrorist attack on an ICE facility in Dallas.”

    Demonstrators say the other man arrested on Friday is a military veteran.

    Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson has urged Broadview residents to “take all necessary precautions to protect themselves and their families in order to stay out of harm’s way.”

    Illinois Governor JB Pritzker released the following statement in response to the federal deployments in the village of Broadview:
    “The State of Illinois is closely monitoring the federal deployments in the Village of Broadview. Public safety is always my top priority, and the Illinois State Police remain in close communication with the Broadview Police Department to monitor and maintain public safety.

    “Whether it be in Broadview here in Illinois or in Portland, Oregon, the Trump Administration is intentionally creating chaos to threaten sending military troops to American cities and suburbs. The suggestion that chemical agents like tear gas or pepper spray could be used indiscriminately against peaceful demonstrators, or even first responders, is unacceptable and not normal.

    “Illinois will always defend Americans’ right to peacefully protest and make their voices heard. We denounce any violence against the general public, members of the media, and law enforcement or first responders. Even when the Trump Administration does not follow the law, we will.

    “I urge members of the public to remain calm, stay safe, and document what you see with your phones and cameras. My senior team has also asked legal organizations to support monitoring on the ground. By observing and recording peacefully, we can ensure that any violations of the law are brought to light and those responsible are held accountable.”

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  • Local immigration advocates outraged after video of a U.S. citizen briefly detained during an Elgin raid is posted online by DHS Secretary Noem

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    Local immigration advocates expressed anger and worry after a U.S. citizen was briefly detained — and footage of him handcuffed was posted on social media by a high-ranking member of the Trump administration — during a U.S. Department of Homeland Security raid on an Elgin home Tuesday.

    Ismael Cordová-Clough, an Elgin immigration activist who witnessed the raid, said he was outraged that the operation was recorded and publicized online by the federal government, especially when one of the individuals captured on the footage was an American citizen.

    “I think it’s disgusting, to be quite frank, that they utilized our community for their theatrics,” he said. “That is not putting our safety first. That is putting their show first.”

    Early Tuesday, federal agents forcibly entered a home in the 900 block of Chippewa Drive in Elgin, destroying the front door and shattering a patio door in the process.

    One of the residents in the home was Joe Botello, an U.S. citizen born in Texas, who described being handcuffed, questioned by armed agents and taken inside a U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicle during the immigration enforcement operation.

    Botello, 37, said he showed his identification to federal agents, told them he had been born in the United States and then was released. Another roommate of his was also handcuffed and questioned but let go shortly afterward, added Botello, who described being “a bit in shock” following the incident.

    A few hours after the raid, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem shared a video on social media of four men — including Botello — handcuffed and being led away from the house.

    “I was on the ground in Chicago today to make clear we are not backing down,” Noem said in the message on X. “Just this morning, DHS took violent offenders off the streets with arrests for assault, DUI and felony stalking. Our work is only beginning.”

    Noem’s message and video post don’t explain that Botello is a U.S. citizen and was later released.

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Joe Botello steps through a patio door shattered by federal agents when they broke down the front and back doors of his home in the 900 block of Chippewa Drive in the early morning on Sept. 16, 2025, in Elgin. Botello said the federal agents did not show residents in the home a warrant, placed him in a vehicle, but eventually released him after scanning his driver’s license. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

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To Cordová-Clough, the video and Noem’s message “puts an overlay of guilt on (those recorded) just associated with their faces.”

“Honestly, if I was a U.S. citizen displayed in that manner by Kristi Noem or any other government official, absolutely I would be suing them,” he said. “If this was about public safety, you would be more mindful of who is (being recorded).”

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Wednesday that “no U.S. citizen was arrested, they were briefly held for their and officers’ safety while the operation in the house was under way.”

“This is standard protocol,” the statement added.

DHS officials did not answer Tribune questions about the video of the raid or Noem’s social media post. The misleading video had not been taken down as of Wednesday evening.

Botello, who had chronicled the raid and its aftermath to the Tribune on Tuesday, declined to comment on Noem’s social media post Wednesday or the DHS statement.

Federal immigration officials released information Wednesday on five allegedly undocumented immigrants arrested during the raid on the Elgin home, which was part of “Operation Midway Blitz,” the ramped-up immigration enforcement announced specifically for the Chicago area by Noem last week.

Federal agents conduct an operation in Elgin near the intersection of Chippewa Drive and Martin Drive on Sept. 16, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Federal agents conduct an operation in Elgin near the intersection of Chippewa Drive and Martin Drive on Sept. 16, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

The surge began Sept. 6 and encompasses the entire state of Illinois, as well as Lake County, Indiana, according to information released by U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, a Democrat from Naperville. Underwood, who met with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials this week, said the agency reported 250 arrests as of Monday. Individuals who are detained and processed are being transferred to detention centers in Indiana and Wisconsin.

Federal court records revealed that the target of the Elgin operation appeared to be Carlos Gonzalez-Leon, a citizen of Mexico who had been previously removed from the U.S. on three separate occasions. Immigration officials had the Chippewa Drive home where Gonzalez-Leon, Botello and others were staying under surveillance as far back as Sept. 10, nearly a week before the raid, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

A border patrol agent said in an affidavit that he observed Gonzalez-Leon’s green Mercury minivan parked at the address. Two days later, agents tailed him as he got into a different vehicle and drove to a gas station, the complaint said.

The DHS release stated that Gonzalez-Leon was previously convicted of assaulting a family member. That conviction was not mentioned in the criminal complaint, however, and did not appear in a search of local criminal records.

DHS stated the arrests occurred during service of a search warrant for one individual in the home, but did not provide a copy of the warrant or say who the target was. In a news release late Tuesday, the agency identified five men arrested in the incident, all of whom are allegedly in the country illegally.

The others who were detained were Jose Morales-Rodriguez, of Mexico; Juan Eduardo Solarzano-Morales, of Mexico; Victor Manuel Rodriguez-Pantoja, of Mexico; and Ruben Antonio Gonzalez-Querales, of Venezuela, according to the news release.

Morales-Rodriguez has previous convictions that all appeared to be traffic-related, including a 2010 conviction for aggravated DUI and driving without a valid license, records show.

According to DHS, Solarzano-Morales has convictions for domestic violence and stalking. A search of local court records did not turn up any information on those cases.

The other two men arrested had no reported criminal background.

Chicago-area criminal defense attorney Steven Greenberg said authorities have the right to briefly detain and handcuff people when serving warrants if they deem it’s necessary. Noem’s social media post portrayed Botello in an unfair and inaccurate light, he said, but there’s likely little remedy because Noem has significant legal protections.

“It’s just so obvious why it’s irresponsible … to mislabel someone as a criminal when they’re not or an illegal alien when they’re not,” he said. “Federal government officials have immunity for virtually anything they do in the course of their employment for official acts, so he likely has no recourse.”

Ismael Cordova-Clough, left, and Maria Elena Muniz, right, both members of an Elgin volunteer patrol group document federal agents in vehicles departing from a raid along Chippewa Drive on Sept. 16, 2025, in Elgin. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Ismael Cordová-Clough, left, and Maria Elena Muniz, right, both members of an Elgin volunteer patrol group, document federal agents in vehicles departing from a raid along Chippewa Drive in Elgin on Sept. 16, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

To Cordová-Clough, the arrests didn’t justify Noem’s social media post and video, which he believes should trouble every American.

“It also means that we must not believe in our criminal justice system, where you’re innocent until proven guilty,” he said. “They’re putting guilt at the forefront to excuse their behavior. And that’s not the best way to govern.”

Immigration advocate Delani Hernandez, a volunteer who patrols the Elgin area to spot raids or other immigration enforcement activity, called Noem’s video “propaganda” for President Donald Trump’s administration.

She added that Botello and others captured in the video were just “collateral damage.”

“Not all people there were bad people,” she said. “Some people were just there because they lived there.”

Chicago Tribune reporters Jason Meisner and Olivia Olander contributed.

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Angie Leventis Lourgos

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  • Illinois Democrats call for investigation of fatal shooting of Franklin Park man by ICE agent

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    Hours after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents fatally shot a man in Franklin Park, U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, a Democrat from Chicago, called for a full investigation of the shooting at a news conference Friday night held in tandem with local officials and immigrant rights leaders.

    He spoke over a loud group of protesters who called out, “Don’t investigate, abolish ICE!” The shouts drowned him out and aides brought him a microphone.

    Garcia condemned the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for “judging an individual who was killed by one of their agents” and “casting him in the worst light.” He said he met with the man’s family after the shooting.

    Asked whether the agents had been wearing body cameras, Garcia said he was not aware.

    The man who was killed, identified by federal officers as Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, 38, was fatally shot after he allegedly tried to flee a traffic stop and struck an officer with his vehicle, leaving him with serious injuries.

    The shooting in the typically quiet, working-class northwest suburb, which has a population that is more than half Hispanic, immediately brought calls for transparency from Illinois political leaders and condemnation from activists who decried the “aggressive” tactics of immigration agents.

    Federal officials, meanwhile, said the officer who opened fire acted appropriately and in fear for his life. He was recovering from severe leg injuries Friday at a local hospital, where his condition had stabilized.

    The Department of Homeland Security said in a written statement that Villegas-Gonzalez is a citizen of Mexico and was in the U.S. illegally, though further details were not provided.

    According to DHS, immigration officers conducted a vehicle stop Friday morning to arrest Villegas-Gonzalez, who has a record of reckless driving offenses.

    Records show that a man whose name and age matches Villegas-Gonzalez has received a number of traffic tickets in Cook County, but an initial search by the Tribune revealed no criminal incidents locally.

    Villegas-Gonzalez “refused to follow law enforcement commands and drove his car” at officers, striking one of the ICE agents and dragging him “a significant distance,” the DHS statement said. “Fearing for his life, the officer discharged his firearm and struck the subject.”

    Both the agent and Villegas-Gonzalez were taken to nearby Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where Villegas-Gonzalez was pronounced dead, authorities said.

    At Friday night’s news conference, state Rep. Norma Hernandez, a Melrose Park Democrat, said Villegas-Gonzalez had only a traffic violation when agents stopped him Friday.

    “We don’t trust you and we don’t want you here,” she said. “We need to abolish ICE. You cannot get rid of the 14 million undocumented immigrants here.”

    U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez, a Chicago Democrat, and other public officials on the city’s Northwest Side, condemned the shooting and also called for an investigation.

    “We demand a full and thorough investigation into what happened today. DHS is not above the law,” the statement released Friday said. “They should immediately release all body camera footage, warrants, and relevant information on this case. Our community deserves answers and accountability, not the scapegoating of our most vulnerable.”

    One of Villegas-Gonzalez’s Franklin Park neighbors said he had a girlfriend and two young kids, and he believed he worked at a factory or warehouse.

    Several videos surfaced quickly on social media Friday showing the disturbing aftermath of the shooting.

    One, taken by a bystander from across the street, showed two officers in front of a gray sedan that had smashed into the side of a semitruck. The officers could be seen opening the driver’s side door and dragging a limp Villegas-Gonzalez to the side of the road.

    A local activist who was out in the area documenting ICE patrols Friday morning posted another video to his Facebook profile where a truck driver could be heard talking to emergency dispatchers. The camera then pans over to Villegas-Gonzalez, who is lying on the side of the road bleeding, with his hands apparently restrained behind his back. The two officers who removed him from the car are kneeling over him, calling for help and putting on gloves.

    The fatal shooting occurred just days after Trump’s administration announced it was beginning a surge of immigration law enforcement in Chicago, dubbing it “Operation Midway Blitz” and claiming it would target “criminal illegal aliens” who have taken advantage of the city and state’s sanctuary policies.

    The announcement marked the first official word from the Trump administration about increased immigration enforcement after Trump vacillated between vows of “going in” to Chicago with the potential deployment of National Guard troops to fight overall crime, to a stepped-up immigration enforcement role by ICE agents.

    By Friday night, about 25 protesters stood by a small memorial of candles and flowers along Grand Avenue, near the site of the shooting.

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    FBI employees watch as a vehicle is towed from the scene where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a man after the agency says he tried to flee a traffic stop in the car and struck an officer with his vehicle on Sept. 12, 2025, in Franklin Park. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

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    Tess Kenny, Caroline Kubzansky

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  • Protest blocks downtown traffic after 4 arrested in Lawndale as part of operation ‘Midway Blitz’

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    CHICAGO (WLS) — A large protest against immigration enforcement blocked traffic in downtown Chicago for hours on Tuesday evening.

    “We must organize. We must stay in the streets and keep each other safe!” one protester said.

    ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

    The Coalition Against the Trump Agenda and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights hosted a rally at Congress Plaza Garden on Tuesday evening before marching in the streets to make their voices heard.

    “We are going to keep fighting against the escalated ICE raids and attacks against our communities. Trump says that it’s going to be war in Chicago, but I believe in the people’s power and the resistance here in strong,” said Rania Salem with the U.S. Palestinian Community Network.

    About 200 demonstrators marched on Michigan Avenue around 6 p.m.

    “We will be out on these streets. So, get ready. Buy you some new shoes!” one demonstrator said.

    READ MORE | Chicago federal intervention: Tracking surge in immigration enforcement operations | Live updates

    The group later returned to the plaza, where the rally resumed. Organizers told ABC7 that they were committed to keeping the demonstration peaceful.

    “We’re going to talk about how we’re meeting the moment, right now,” another demonstrator said.

    The protest came after federal agents descended on Chicago’s Lawndale neighborhood as part of operation “Midway Blitz” on Tuesday.

    Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement along with Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents arrested three men they say are suspected gang members. ABC7 blurred their faces because we do not know whether they have been charged.

    ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas spoke with the head of the ICE operation, which the Department of Homeland Security says is targeting criminal offenders who are in the U.S. illegally.

    Federal agents descended on Chicago’s Lawndale neighborhood as part of operation “Midway Blitz.”

    “We’re talking anywhere from the most egregious child sex offender to, homicide, burglary, assault, domestic violence, it runs the gamut. It’s everybody that’s committed crime, but the ones we’re going to primarily focus on, the ones that we want to get off the streets are going to be our heinous criminals,” Marco Charles, acting director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations told ABC News.

    ATF Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Maniff said they are investigating possible gun trafficking by the Tren de Aragua gang.

    “This investigation started through our crime gun intelligence center with our 15 partner agencies that include ICE. And during this operation, we identified 30 TDA suspected gang members that were selling firearms in the Chicagoland area,” Maniff said.

    DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin says, “DHS is launching Operation Midway Blitz in honor of Katie Abraham who was killed in Illinois by a criminal illegal alien who should have never been in our country.” The operation, which began was announced Monday, is part of a 30-day federal immigration enforcement surge in the Chicago area.

    Meanwhile, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker met with activists who support immigrants on Tuesday, talking about strategies for how best to address the immigration enforcement surge. Several community groups are also planning resistance strategies.

    The federal government has officially started its immigration crackdown on the Chicago area.

    Pritzker said there is a lot of fear out there about what the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation will actually turn into. And as President Donald Trump continues to talk about cleaning up Democrat-run cities, Pritzker made it clear, once again, that he has no plans to ask for federal help like the National Guard.

    Pritzker met with a group leaders representing numerous advocacy groups who are trying to inform people of their rights and help them stay safe as they wait for the ICE raids to ramp up.

    “We’re going to talk about how we’re meeting the moment right now,” one woman who attended the meeting said. “What does that actually look like? What does the various programs look like?”

    The governor offered some encouragement.

    “The reason that Tom Homan, the reason that Donald Trump, the reason that so many people, you know, are upset and want to attack Chicago is because we’re winning,” Pritzker said. “Even though this is a terrible moment, we are winning here, We are, even if there are still people who are being taken and still there are attacks in our communities.”

    It comes as various community groups continue to criticize operation “Midway Blitz,” the name given to the stepped-up immigration enforcement effort that the Trump administration has said will target the “worst of the worst” criminals who are not in the country legally.

    After touring the National Museum of Mexican Art, the governor admitted that the state is being kept in the dark about ICE activity. Pritzker said he is not sure when the ICE operation will ramp up, but he says they have about 100 vehicles at the ready.

    “Here’s what we do know: ICE is somewhere on the ground here. They already have been effectuating their plans. We have not seen the bulk of those ICE agents yet in communities, but we have seen some, and we know that they are gathering steam,” Pritzker said.

    The White House border czar, Tom Homan, defended the operation that is expected to look similar to what happened in Los Angeles.

    RELATED | Controversial ICE tactics cleared by Supreme Court; advocates worry they may be deployed in Chicago

    “We’re sending a message to the whole world; there are consequences for violating our laws. You’re asking me to tell ICE, ‘Don’t enforce the law.’ Should DEA enforce their laws? Should FBI enforce their laws? Should ATF enforce their laws? ICE is going to enforce the laws. That’s what President Trump got elected for and what we’re doing,” Homan said.

    Faith leaders on the West Side are calling this “Resistance Tuesday.” They gathered in Pilsen, where community members are getting ready to celebrate Mexican Independence Day this weekend

    “When it comes to putting our sons and daughters in the back of unmarked vans by agents that do not want to be known, accountable by anybody, we have to say ‘No,’” said Rev. Joe Morrow with 4th Presbyterian Church.

    Organized by the Leaders’ Network, the collection of prominent clergy came together on Tuesday, united by their opposition to any federal takeover of Chicago.

    “It’s so important that this is an interfaith gathering that Christians, Jews and Muslims are coming together to say that we’re going to fight for Chicago,” said Leaders’ Network President David Cherry.

    Their message is that Chicago needs investment, not occupation.

    “So, while he is championing that there’s a need for the military to solve this problem, we believe in resources,” said New Landmark Baptist Church Pastor Cy Fields.

    SEE ALSO | Katie Abraham’s father speaks out on DHS’ operation ‘Midway Blitz’ in Chicago area

    Many say Trump is using crime in predominately Black and Brown communities as an excuse to occupy the city.

    “We resist what he is doing,” said Greater Union Baptist Church Pastor Dr. Walter McCray. “We stand flat footed, morally and spiritually and resist what he is doing. We are not afraid. We can control our community if we have the resources, the resources to hire folk.”

    Administration officials say their actions are necessary to apprehend undocumented people, who they say are being given refuge in sanctuary cities, adding that they have seen a reduction in crime in Washington, D.C. after the National Guard was called in to help.

    If National Guard troops were deployed in Chicago, military experts say, they would likely be used to guard federal buildings.

    The troops are trained for military combat, not policing crime and cannot be dispatched by 9-1-1 to crime scenes.

    “It’s looking for an excuse to have further crackdowns on valid protests and to provoke attack, and that’s my deepest concern, that these troops are coming here to provoke, not to protect,” said Oak Park Temple Rabbi Max Weiss.

    ABC News contributed to this report.

    Copyright © 2025 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.

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  • ICE confirms 4 Chicago-area arrests as Trump administration’s ‘Midway Blitz’ operation gets underway

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    CHICAGO (WLS) — Immigrant advocates say they have already received a large volume of calls to their hotline about Immigration and Customs Enforcement encounters in the Chicago area in recent days.

    Some elected leaders worry that this just the start of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the area.

    ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

    “It’s obvious that operations have begun in Chicago, and it’s even more obvious they’re going to be targeting our communities here in the Southwest Side again. We’re afraid. Our neighbors are afraid,” said Any Huamani, who is on the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council and is a Southwest Side Rapid Response team member.

    The Department of Homeland Security says their operation “Midway Blitz” in the Chicago area is underway. They say they are targeting violent offenders who are here illegally.

    On social media, ICE posted a picture of one of their SUVs with the Chicago skyline behind it, saying they are here to remove the dangerous public safety threats.

    Late Monday, ICE said agents arrested at least four men from Mexico in the Chicago area on Sunday. They are accused of crimes like DUI, vehicular burglary, armed robbery, domestic battery, assault and sexual assault of a child, ICE said.

    “So far, it’s been successful. We have successfully arrested some criminal aliens over the last few days. We just began our surge. We’re going to be bringing in our our partners, our other DHS partners, DOJ partners, CBP partners coming in. So, they’ll be coming in and participating in this ICE-led operation,” said ICE official Marcos Charles.

    SEE ALSO | Katie Abraham’s father speaks out on DHS’ operation ‘Midway Blitz’ in Chicago area

    ICE said one arrest was made at 47th and Archer and another was made at 49th and Archer. ICE did not provide locations for the other two arrests.

    Video provided to ABC7 shows federal agents wearing badges that say “ICE” handcuffing a man near Archer and Pulaski. Neighbors say that man is a flower vendor.

    “We have confirmed in my ward… detained in my ward… there have been three people. One in 50th and Pulaski; he a was a street vendor selling flowers. The other, a couple of blocks down in Archer, was just standing on the sidewalk. The third one was waiting on the bus on 47th and Archer,” said Ald. Jeylu Gutierrez, who represents the 14th Ward. “This was never about arresting the worst of the worst. It’s been about terrorizing our community.”

    Gutierrez says the wife of the flower vendor has been notified, and the family is figuring out their next steps.

    On Monday morning, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights says their teams were deployed to 61st and Kildare on Chicago’s Southwest Side after reports of immigration agents in the area.

    LIVE UPDATES | Chicago federal intervention: Tracking surge in immigration enforcement operations

    “What we do know is they attempted arrests, and there has been at least one arrest for today,” said ICIRR Senior Director of Deportation Defense Rey Wences.

    While announcing the immigration blitz on Monday, DHS also listed 11 specific people agents are looking for in Chicago.

    Many of those people were detained in the Cook County Jail for criminal cases, but later released.

    DHS accuses the jail of not cooperating. But in a statement on Monday night, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office says state law prohibits them from releasing any detainees into the custody of federal immigration authorities without a signed arrest warrant from a judge.

    Meanwhile, Evanston is also preparing for possible ICE raids in the coming days. The mayor there was tipped off by the governor’s office and sent out an email blast, letting residents know.

    “We’re also working with community partners. So for example, this morning, the high school sent an email blast as well to all of their families, knowing that some people might get ours and not theirs, some people might get theirs and not ours,” said Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss.

    The Evanston City Council will vote on a resolution calling for the state to address ICE agents wearing masks on Monday night.

    “We believe that it is just fundamentally wrong in a democracy for an agent of the state to use the power of the state without identifying themselves clearly with transparency and accountability,” Biss said.

    Many people in the Chicago area are wondering if this past weekend was the calm before the ICE storm.

    “Operation ‘Midway Blitz’ is not public safety. It’s a declaration of war on Mexicans and Latinos in Chicago,” said state Rep. Aaron Ortiz, who represents the 1st District.

    Immigrant advocates reminded the public to not provoke federal agents and to take video of any encounters from a safe distance.

    Religious leaders rally against immigration crackdown in Chicago: ‘Faith over fear’

    Religious leaders from a diverse group of faith backgrounds stood with one voice on Daley Plaza to decry the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

    Meanwhile, more than one dozen faith leaders came together on Monday, taking a stand against ICE raids and rallying in support of immigrants in a campaign they are calling Faith Over Fear.

    “ICE cannot survive the fire of a forge,” said Reverend David Black with the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago.

    “But what he’s done is rallying us together. I’ve not seen this in a long time. He’s fighting with all his weapons of his mouth and weapons of the army. We’re fighting for something. It’s our DNA, our faith, our faith is essential of who we are. He’s not ready for this and he’s not more powerful,” said Fr. Michael Pfleger with St. Sabina Church.

    Religious leaders from a diverse group of faith backgrounds stood with one voice on Daley Plaza to decry the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and the possibility of a National Guard deployment in Chicago, as the White House border czar says the use of National Guard troops to protect and support immigration enforcement operations is “on the table.”

    “This morning, as I dropped my kids off at school. Like so many of us in Chicago did this morning, we took our kids to school, but today felt different,” said Rev Sandra Van-Opstal with Lawndale Christian Community Church.

    “I’ve got to tell you, there’s a lot of fear. I live in the Pilsen/Little Village area, and it’s been quieter these past few days, and so, we suspect that people will be navigating the conditions in our city cautiously,” said Ray Wences with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

    Little Village is all decked out in Mexican colors in advance of this weekend’s Independence Day celebration. Many street vendors are selling flags and other items for those gearing up for the festivities.

    “God stood on the side of the vulnerable and the oppressed,” said Mishkan Chicago founder Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann. “God split the sea for them and said to the world, the way that you treat the least among you, the strangers, the slaves, the servants, the way that you treat them is a test of your society.”

    The faith leaders are preparing to support those families who may be impacted by ICE detentions.

    “As a way to be able to walk with the families after something has happened, we’re going to reactivate a lot of the resource network that we had during the new arrivals mission and be able to partner with churches and other groups to be able to get emergency items out to all of them,” said New Life Centers CEO Matt DeMateo.

    SEE ALSO | ‘We’re not going to war’ with Chicago, Trump says, after sharing ominous meme

    A protest and a march against the operation are set to get underway in the Loop late Tuesday afternoon.

    Trump, meanwhile, continues to focus on Chicago crime as operation “Midway Blitz” ramps up.

    “And I don’t know why Chicago isn’t calling us saying, ‘Please give us help,’ when you have, over just a short period of time, 50 murders and hundreds of people shot, and then, you have a governor that stands up and says how crime is just fine. It’s really crazy,” Trump said.

    In an op-ed piece in the New York Times, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson addressed a possible National Guard deployment to address crime, saying in part, “lowering crime rates here does not require an occupation of our city by armed members of the National Guard, as the White House continues to threaten us with…. Sending in the National Guard is the wrong solution to a real problem.”

    Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker responded to the ICE post about coming after dangerous criminals, saying it is not about fighting crime, and that if it were, his administration would have heard from the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate efforts. The governor says this is about scaring Illinoisans.

    The ICIRR Family Support Network was founded to connect immigrant communities with support. They can be reached at 855-435-7693.

    A spokesperson for Pritzker, issued a statement, saying, “The Governor’s Office has received no formal communication or information from the Trump Administration. Like the public and press, we are learning of their operations through their social media as they attempt to produce a reality television show. As Trump has said himself, this is not about seriously fighting crime or reforming immigration – it’s about Trump’s plan to go to war with America’s third-largest city. If he cared about delivering real solutions for Illinois, then we would have heard from him. Unlike Trump’s reality show, we don’t like keeping people in the dark. Since we have learned of the Trump Administration’s plans to deploy federal agents and active-duty military to Illinois, Gov. Pritzker has shared information with the public and the Governor’s Office has remained in regular contact with leaders and partners at the City of Chicago, Cook County, the Illinois congressional delegation, state legislature, and mayors and representatives from the collar counties.”

    Johnson also issued a statement, saying, “We have received no notice of any enhanced immigration action by the Trump administration. We are concerned about potential militarized immigration enforcement without due process because of ICE’s track record of detaining and deporting American citizens and violating the human rights of hundreds of detainees. ICE sent a 4-year-old boy with stage 4 kidney cancer to Honduras, even though the child was an American citizen. There are more than 500 documented incidents of human rights abuses at detention facilities since Trump took office, including deaths of detainees and alleged cases of sexual abuse of minors by federal immigration agents. Because of these incidents and more, we remain opposed to militarized immigration enforcement that runs afoul of the Constitution in our city. We encourage residents to visit www.Chicago.gov/KYR to stay informed on their rights.”

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  • Federal immigration operations ramping up in Chicago and Boston as other sanctuary cities are on alert

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    (CNN) — Immigration enforcement operations are ramping up in Chicago and Boston, marking the latest escalation between the Trump administration and Democratic-led cities that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

    The Department of Homeland Security on Monday announced “Operation Midway Blitz” aimed at targeting “criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they knew Governor (JB) Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets.”

    The heightened rhetoric from President Donald Trump and his top officials aligns with how the White House plans to push forward its aggressive agenda aimed at undocumented immigrants. Ongoing arrests in Chicago are expected to expand as a federal presence builds up in a weeks-long, phased approach, according to officials familiar with the plans who stressed it’s still in flux.

    Operations in Boston and Chicago are modeled after the June immigration sweeps in Los Angeles that the Supreme Court ruled Monday can continue under certain circumstances. The Homeland Security official charged with immigration operations in Los Angeles, Gregory Bovino, was deployed to Chicago to do the same there, officials told CNN, with one describing Chicago as “Los Angeles on the road.”

    The escalating actions also follow a massive raid last week at a Hyundai plant in Georgia that, while not in a sanctuary city, previews forthcoming worksite operations, border czar Tom Homan told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday.

    “You can expect action in most sanctuary cities across the country,” Homan said, decrying as “problem areas” the next targets of the sweeping nationwide immigration enforcement agenda that helped propel Trump to a second term but Americans largely oppose.

    In tandem with those moves, more Democratic-led cities also are bracing for the Trump administration to decide — “over the next day or two,” the president said Sunday — where to further deploy National Guard troops to crack down on violent crime, a purported problem the White House sometimes has linked with immigration.

    This image from video provided by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement shows a person being handcuffed at the Hyundai Motor Group’s electric vehicle plant in Ellabell, Georgia, on Thursday. Credit: Corey Bullard / AP via CNN Newsource

    The Department of Homeland Security on Sunday blamed Boston Mayor Michelle Wu for sanctuary polices that “not only attract and harbor criminals but also place these public safety threats above the interests of law-abiding American citizens.” Crossing the border or overstaying a visa and being undocumented in the United States generally is a civil infraction, not a criminal one.

    Calling up the National Guard is “always on the table” for Chicago, Homan told CNN, even after a federal judge last week ruled Trump broke federal law by using the US military to help with law enforcement activities in and around Los Angeles — while use of the guard in Washington, DC, is unlike anywhere else.

    “We used them in Los Angeles, and we use them in Washington, DC,” Homan said. “They’re a force multiplier.”

    Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, said in a statement Monday that such enforcement won’t make people feel safer.

    “They are a waste of money, stoke fear, and represent another failed attempt at a distraction,” he said.

    Cities push back against Trump threats

    In Washington, DC, where more than 2,200 armed National Guard troops have roamed for weeks, officials are suing the Trump administration, accusing the president of violating the Constitution and federal law by sending soldiers into the city without consent from local leaders.

    The lawsuit, filed Thursday by DC’s attorney general, claims the troops — many from out of state — have been deputized by the US Marshals office and are patrolling neighborhoods, conducting searches and making arrests, despite federal laws that generally bar the military from acting as local police.

    The Trump administration has touted its efforts in the capital city, pointing to a sharp drop in violent crime since ramping up federal law enforcement last month. But critics argue the National Guard deployment is unnecessary and costly, with taxpayers footing an estimated $1 million a day, while troops take photos with tourists, pick up trash and lay mulch.

    Members of the National Guard patrol inside the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC, on August 28. Credit: Win McNamee / Getty Images via CNN Newsource

    Trump has also repeatedly slammed nearby Baltimore for its crime, calling the city a “hellhole” and suggesting the National Guard could be deployed there next.

    “We don’t need an occupation,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott told CNN’s Manu Raju on Sunday. Scott said he’d explore all options when asked whether he would sign an order like Chicago’s that tells local police not to cooperate with federal law enforcement should they be deployed.

    On Sunday evening, Trump told reporters Chicago is a “very dangerous place,” adding to anticipation of troops there. The president said he could “solve Chicago very quickly,” but stopped short of committing to deploy the guard.

    The next morning, he lashed out at Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, questioning the Democrat’s supposed aversion to federal intervention: “WHY??? … Only the Criminals will be hurt” by any federal efforts, Trump wrote on his social media platform, adding crime is “ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE!!!”

    Pritzker denounced DHS operations in the state Monday, saying in a post on X that the operation “isn’t about fighting crime.”

    “That requires support and coordination — yet we’ve experienced nothing like that over the past several weeks,” he said, adding that the administration has chosen to focus “on scaring Illinoisians.”

    The governor’s office has still not recieved any “formal communication or information” from the Trump administration and that they are often learning of operations through social media, said Matt Hill, spokesperson for Pritzker.

    Seven people were killed in Chicago from Friday evening through Sunday, preliminary police figures show. At least six victims were men, ages 21 to 42.

    Still, fatal shootings in the city are down 34.2% this year through September 6 compared with the same period in 2024, with 237 killed in 2025, mayor’s office data shows.

    The Windy City has prepared for more than a week for looming National Guard deployments and Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, from the governor bracing for a court fight to parade planners postponing.

    Fears gripped Chicago over the weekend

    On the Lower West Side of Chicago, the start of Mexican Independence Day celebrations typically marks a raucous weekend of parties and parades drawing hundreds of thousands of attendees. While some crowds did gather Saturday waving green, white and red flags in the predominantly Latino Pilsen neighborhood, an undercurrent of caution persisted.

    As costumed performers and children with baskets of treats paraded through the community, bright orange whistles swung from their necks, each one ready to cut through the music should federal immigration agents appear.

    Keilina Zamora prepares to participate in the Mexican Independence Day parade in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood on Saturday. Credit: Scott Olson / Getty Images via CNN Newsource
    People watch the Mexican Independence Day parade in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood on Saturday. Credit: Scott Olson / Getty Images via CNN Newsource

    Elsewhere, celebrations were muted.

    In Wauconda, a village northwest of Chicago, the annual Latino Heritage Festival was canceled due in part to “immigration concerns in our area,” the Wauconda Police Department said in a Friday social media post.

    One of the largest events of the Fiestas Patrias, the parade for the Mexican Independence Day in Waukegan, has been postponed for the first time in its 30-year history to November 1 from September 14. The festival is celebrated every year in the suburb along Lake Michigan just north of the Great Lakes naval base, the facility Gov. JB Pritzker said Trump is set to use as a command center for incoming immigration agents.

    Communities throughout the nation’s third-largest city are preparing for ICE presence by handing out flyers reminding families they have the right in the face of immigration enforcement to remain silent and don’t have to consent to be searched or share their birthplace or citizenship status, among other rights.

    In Pilsen, neighbors gathered this weekend to celebrate Latino culture, choosing joy despite fear: “I think now more than ever is when we need to demonstrate that we are united and we are a community,” longtime resident Araceli Lucio said.

    CNN’s Kit Maher, Alison Main, Samantha Waldenberg, Lily Hautau, Chris Boyette and Gabe Cohen contributed to this report.

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    Priscilla Alvarez, Danya Gainor and CNN

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