Aldo. Mike Rodriguez said eight people, including four Americans, were detained in an immigration enforcement raid on the Little Village neighborhood, the heart of Chicago’s Mexican community.
Border Patrol agents detain WGN-TV employee in Chicago
WGN-TV employee Debbie Brockman was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents during Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago.
CHICAGO – Federal immigration enforcement agents raided the city’s long-established Mexican neighborhood on Oct. 22, removing several people, causing traffic accidents and brandishing weapons, according to residents, local leaders and advocates.
The raid comes as Chicago awaits an upcoming Supreme Court ruling on whether President Trump can deploy the National Guard to the city. White House lawyers argue that immigration authorities cannot enforce federal law without military cooperation. Also on October 22, lawyers for the administration agreed to leave in place a lower court judge’s decision barring the deployment of troops pending a higher court ruling.
Agents descended on the Little Village commercial corridor in the South Side neighborhood in the morning, the heart of Chicago’s Mexican community. Photos and video from the scene show masked U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents speeding after people and local business owners who had locked their doors ahead of the agents.
“A reign of terror has been brought to our neighborhood,” said local Aldo. Mike Rodriguez told USA TODAY. “They took at least eight people, four of whom were U.S. citizens and two of whom were my staff.”
The raid on the city’s most prominent Mexican neighborhood was part of President Donald Trump’s “Operation Midway Blitz,” a crackdown on immigration in the Chicago area. President Trump launched the blitz on September 8, saying it was necessary to catch the “worst of the worst” criminal immigrants. Many local critics argue that innocent people are being terrorized instead.
Federal judges in the Northern District of Illinois, who handle air raid-related cases, have begun ruling against the president over aggressive tactics by the Department of Homeland Security and have begun barring the White House from deploying the National Guard.
But the ruling in federal court in downtown Chicago has not slowed the pace of immigration enforcement across the region. On Oct. 22, investigators scoured the historic South Side Mexican community and nearby suburbs. On October 21, an Illinois congressman said he was stopped at gunpoint by federal agents for documenting an attack on the North Side. A Chicago City Councilwoman also said she was stopped by investigators for documenting her activities.
Homeland Security officials did not respond to requests for comment on the attack.
An agency spokesperson last responded to questions about the raids on Oct. 8, saying, “ICE and U.S. Border Patrol agents have arrested more than 1,500 illegal aliens, including pedophiles, murderers, child molesters, kidnappers, gang members, and armed robbers.”
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Will the National Guard come?
President Trump moved to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops from Illinois and Texas to the Chicago area as part of the blitzkrieg. But a federal judge in downtown Chicago temporarily blocked his actions.
White House lawyers had argued that an “insurrection” may be underway in Chicago. Trump administration lawyers cited protests outside local immigration enforcement facilities and arrests made by federal agents near the city.
U.S. District Judge April M. Perry questioned whether Homeland Security claims cited by White House lawyers in their arguments were “tied to reality.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld Perry’s decision. But Trump’s lawyers appealed again, and the case is now before the Supreme Court. It is unclear when they will be able to govern.
Trump administration lawyers agreed to keep Perry’s order barring the deployment of the National Guard in place pending a Supreme Court ruling. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that legal experts say the White House’s proposal shows it believes the high court will rule in its favor.
Federal judge questions ICE over aggressive tactics
A group of journalists, clergy, and protesters also filed a lawsuit against Department of Homeland Security officials over the use of chemical weapons against people in the Chicago area. At an Oct. 9 court hearing, Assistant Attorney General Eric Hamilton said federal agents deployed $100,000 in non-lethal weapons to stop “rioters” from interfering with immigration.
U.S. District Judge Sarah L. Ellis issued an order restricting agents’ use of chemical weapons in the Chicago area and forcing them to wear identification cards.
Concerned that immigration officials were not following his orders, Ellis amended his orders a week later, on October 16, to ensure officers were equipped with body-worn cameras. She also ordered top officials from the Department of Homeland Security to appear in court and testify.
Customs and Border Protection Incident Deputy Commander. Kyle Harvick and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Deputy Director Sean Byers told a judge on Oct. 20 that agents were acting on her order to issue a warning before using chemical weapons.
Local residents who have been tear gassed say they did not hear the warnings being issued. Harvick and Byers’ testimony came after Perry found the Department of Homeland Security’s account of events in the city unreliable in a separate case.
Mr. Harvick also justified federal agents shooting a local pastor with a pepper ball. A clip of the incident shows the Rev. David Black, who was standing among a group of protesters, shot directly in the head by an agent stationed on the roof of the building.
“What is not shown is that he was given multiple orders to move,” Harvick said.
Byers said 75 people were arrested in connection with attempts to thwart immigration enforcement in the Chicago area.
Next, Ellis confirmed that Customs and Border Protection’s top commander, Gregory Bovino, would be removed in connection with his direction to officials. Bovino is the face of the Blitz. Among the actions he participated in were the raid on Little Village and the September 30 raid on the South Side Apartment Building, where he witnessed agents rappelling from a Black Hawk helicopter.
