Dave Decker/ZUMA Press Wire/AlamyOne month since the launch of “Operation Midway Blitz,” Illinois officials and activists are taking action against ICE enforcement tactics and the deployment of the National Guard.
Federal agents have made over 800 arrests in Illinois, nearly one month since the launch of “Operation Midway Blitz” — an immigration crackdown that has drawn protests, lawsuits, and resistance from local leaders and activists.
The operation, launched in September, aimed to target noncitizens with criminal records in Illinois, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). But critics of the operation say it has escalated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials’ excessive force on immigrant communities, spreading fear and intimidation.
So far, ICE agents have shot and killed a man during a traffic stop in Franklin Park, questioned and detained street vendors and construction workers, pepper sprayed and arrested protesters and journalists outside of the Broadview processing facility. Over the last week, ICE shot a woman in Brighton Park, handcuffed and threatened to arrest Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th) and raided an apartment complex in South Shore, arresting residents, including children in the middle of the night.
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The aggressive sweep has led to pushback from local officials and community members who argue that the operation will not improve public safety.
On Monday, the state of Illinois filed a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s deployment of the Texas National Guard to Illinois, a move that the Trump administration previously claimed was to combat violent crime. The federal troops arrived in Chicago on Tuesday morning despite objections from Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Pritzker called Trump’s decision to deploy troops a “manufactured performance” that would disrupt the lives of “hardworking Americans,” in a statement Saturday.
“For Donald Trump, this has never been about safety, “ he said. “This is about control.”
In a separate incident last month, federal agents also shot and killed 38-year-old Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez during an attempted arrest at a vehicle stop in Franklin Park. DHS initially claimed Villegas-Gonzalez attempted to flee the scene, dragging one of the officers with his vehicle. However, the bodycam footage later revealed agents describing their injuries as “nothing major.”
In response to the month-long increase in immigration enforcement across Chicago, Johnson signed an executive order prohibiting federal immigration agents from using any city-owned property in their immigration operations.
“ICE agents are detaining elected officials, tear-gassing protestors, children, and Chicago police officers, and abusing Chicago residents,” Johnson said Monday. “We will not stand for that in our city.”
At the same time, local organizations are holding Know Your Rights trainings for the public and encouraging people to document ICE interactions displaying agents’ aggressive use of force.
“In a moment like this it is critical that we all exercise our rights and look out for our neighbors,” said Lawrence Benito, executive director at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR). “Organized communities are safer communities, and together we keep each other safe.”
Tara Mobasher is Borderless Magazine’s newsletter writer and reporter. Email Tara at [email protected].
