Chicagoans fear immigration raids amid enforcement action
USA TODAY’s Michael Loria interviews Chicago residents about how immigration enforcement is impacting their daily lives and community life.
President Donald Trump has renewed calls for more federal military crackdowns in Chicago after a weekend shooting in a busy downtown hallway killed a 14-year-old boy and injured eight other teenagers.
In a Nov. 22 Truth Social post, President Trump spoke of “massive crime and rioting” in downtown Chicago and claimed that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson were “refusing federal aid to a situation that could be immediately remedied.”
“People are screaming bring Trump in!!!” he said.
The shooting occurred around 10pm local time on November 21, just two blocks from Millennium Park, where the popular “Cloud Gate” sculpture is located. Hours earlier, the city’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony drew thousands of people to the park to watch fireworks and listen to live music.
Johnson said the gunshots appeared to be during a “teen takeover” that brought large numbers of young people into the city. Chicago Police Department said in an email to USA TODAY that officers nearby saw a “large group on the sidewalk” that began to disperse after the shooting. They are still investigating the cause.
When authorities arrived at the scene, they found seven teenagers, ages 13 to 17, injured. Less than an hour later, officers found two other teenagers with gunshot wounds several blocks away.
One of them, 14-year-old Armani Floyd, died from his injuries, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
“Incidents like last night set us back as a city and evoke fear,” Prime Minister Johnson said at a press conference on November 22nd, referring to the violence. He described the shooting as “emotional whiplash” caused by the cheerful atmosphere downtown during the tree lighting.
Regarding the teen takeover, Johnson said: “Our young people need to understand that they should not attend unauthorized events that are advertised on social media.” Johnson told reporters that the incident was promoted on social media a week before the fatal incident and that police were monitoring the conversation.
He said the city had placed 700 additional police officers and violence intervention specialists on the streets around the expected gathering sites, but acknowledged the precautions were “not fully effective.”
“I’m the first to recognize that there’s still more work to be done in this city to provide a safe place for young people,” Johnson said. “Setbacks like this remind us of the long journey we have taken to build the city we all want to live in.”
Operation Midway Blitz
Trump’s comments came days after the Pentagon withdrew some National Guard troops the president had sent to Chicago and Portland, Oregon, as part of a national crackdown on illegal immigration and crime in Democratic-led cities.
In a post on X, U.S. Northern Command said the troop withdrawal was part of a strategy to ensure a “long-term presence in each city.”
President Trump first sent troops to Chicago in September, launching what he called “Operation Midway Blitz.” During clashes with residents, federal agents used pepper balls and tear gas, and beat journalists, pastors, and Chicago police officers, according to reports and lawsuits.
President Trump called for the arrest of Pritzker and Johnson for “failing to protect” ICE officers. In one incident, Border Patrol agents shot and killed a U.S. citizen.
In late September, federal agents rappelled into an apartment complex from a Black Hawk helicopter in the middle of the night to search for Venezuelan migrants. They announced the arrest of 37 migrants and two members of the Torren de Aragua gang.
Federal prosecutors have not filed criminal charges against any of those arrested, nor have they provided evidence that two of the detainees belonged to Ten de Aragua, according to a ProPublica investigation.
A federal judge reviewing conditions at an immigration enforcement facility in suburban Chicago called reports of detainees sleeping next to overflowing toilets “disgusting” and “unconstitutional.”
The Department of Homeland Security announced that more than 1,500 immigrants were arrested in connection with the raid.
Contributors: Michael Loria, Eduardo Cuevas, Christopher Cann, Jack Armstrong, Suzette Hackney, Terry Collins. USA TODAY Network
