Camilla Forte/Borderless Magazine/Catchlight Local/Report for AmericaSince October, the commission has interviewed over 60 witnesses and analyzed nearly 100 hours of body-camera footage from federal agents involved in Midway Blitz.
The Illinois Accountability Commission held its final public hearings this week, investigating further concerns of “widespread federal misconduct and reckless tactics” during Operation Midway Blitz.
“This commission did what no one else would,” said lead Commission Counsel Ahmed Baset. “We built a record of evidence that you, the public, can now judge for yourselves.”
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On Tuesday, Marimar Martinez — a resident who was shot five times by agents in October in Brighton Park — recalled her violent encounter with federal agents. The commission presented video footage contradicting the agents’ and the federal government’s initial accounts of the incident — that Martinez rammed into their vehicle.
She was charged with a federal crime in October and labeled a domestic terrorist by the federal government.
“I’m in federal prison with bullet holes all over my body and I’m just trying to stay alive,” she said. “I didn’t know what was going to happen to me.”
Through court filings, video evidence, witness testimony, and messages and emails between federal agents following the incident, the commission found that the incident showcased “consistent, intentional violations of the law and deliberate institutional cover-up.”
The testimony comes after officials shared bodycam footage Monday, revealing federal agents’ aggressive behaviors carried out across Little Village, Old Irving Park, Lakeview and nearby Evanston.
Operation Midway Blitz resulted in federal immigration agents arresting over 4,500 people in Illinois. Throughout the operation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents:
- killed a man in Franklin Park,
- were involved in multiple car crashes,
- shot a woman five times in Brighton Park,
- raided a South Shore apartment building and zip-tied residents, including small children;
- and teargassed and shot pepper bullets at civilians in Little Village, Irving Park, Logan Square and Lakeview.
Ahead of the final hearings, the commission requested the testimonies of eight White House officials to examine their roles and responsibilities in Operation Midway Blitz. They declined to answer.
Jose, a Chicago resident who testified at Monday’s hearing, said he witnessed a “coordinated ambush” on day laborers in the parking lot of a North Side Home Depot on Oct. 21. He noted how three people were chased until they reached the Chicago River. He said actions like these are examples of how “incidents disappear in bureaucratic shadows.”
“Unfortunately, the events of the 21st are not isolated,” he said. “We see this trauma is continuing to be perpetuated across communities.”
While larger, more chaotic instances with agents have slowed down over the last few months, Jose says federal agents have become more strategic.
“In the last three weeks, in our rapid response network on the North Side, what we’re seeing now is more targeted abductions,” Jose told Borderless after Monday’s hearing. “Midway Blitz was designed to cause fear and confront people. What we’re seeing now is there’s less confrontation. They’re moving quicker.”
Last fall, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed an executive order establishing the commission in response to the deployment of ICE and CBP officers to Chicago as part of Operation Midway Blitz. It was intended to create a public record of the operation’s impacts and later to provide policy recommendations to promote the safety of residents in the Chicagoland area.
The panel has since conducted 16 investigations, interviewed over 60 witnesses and studied nearly 100 hours of body-camera footage.
The commission will submit its final report to Pritzker on Thursday.
Tara Mobasher is Borderless Magazine’s newsletter writer and reporter. Email Tara at [email protected].
