PARK RIDGE, Ill. — Immigration enforcement officials arrested almost 550 people as part of an operation in the Chicago area that launched a little less than two weeks ago, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday.
The updated figure came hours after a senior immigration official revealed in an interview with The Associated Press that more than 400 people had been arrested in the operation so far. The figures offer an early gauge of what is shaping up as a major enforcement effort that comes after similar operations were launched in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
The figures released by Homeland Security include arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as other federal agencies assisting in the operation.
ICE launched its Chicago area operation dubbed “Midway Blitz” on Sept. 8, drawing concern from activists and immigrant communities who say there’s been a noticeable uptick in immigration enforcement agents.
That deepened dread in communities already fearful of the large-scale arrests or aggressive tactics used in other cities targeted by President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies.
The operation brought allegations of excessive force and heavy-handed dragnets that ensnared U.S. citizens, while gratifying Trump supporters who say he is delivering on a promise of mass deportations.
The Trump administration promised to send an influx of immigration agents and National Guard troops to Chicago, over the fierce of objections of local leaders and residents. A military deployment to Chicago has yet to materialize even as immigration enforcement operations continue.
Officials and activists in the Chicago area opposed to the enforcement surge argue the approach is dangerous and imprecise, pointing to accounts of two U.S. citizens who were briefly detained this week by federal officers focused on immigration enforcement.
Advocates also protested the death of a man shot by an ICE officer on Sept. 12.
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Marcos Charles, the acting head of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations, said in an interview with the Associated Press Friday that as of Thursday roughly 50% to 60% of the Chicago operation arrests were targeted arrests, meaning they were specific people that ICE was trying to find because they had committed a crime, had a final order of removal or had done something that put them on ICE’s radar.
The rest were what’s often referred to as “collateral arrests,” meaning people that ICE comes across during their operations who aren’t the person they’re looking for but are in the country illegally, so ICE can arrest them.
Collateral arrests were not allowed during the Biden administration but the Trump administration threw out those restrictions almost immediately after coming into office as part of Trump’s efforts to beef up deportations.
“It doesn’t mean that the collateral arrests are non-criminal. Some of our collateral arrests … also have criminal convictions and arrests. They just weren’t the people we were looking for at the time,” said Charles.
The Department of Homeland Security launched “Midway Blitz” after months of Trump administration criticism of Chicago and Illinois over state and local policies that restrict law enforcement cooperation with ICE.
ICE says these policies mean that immigrants who’ve committed crimes in the U.S. and can be deported as a result are instead released into the community. ICE says it then has to go out into the community and track them down to remove them.
Many local officials and activists have said that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and that if they cooperate with ICE, it makes it less likely that immigrants who are victims or witnesses to crime will come forward to work with police.
Three protesters arrested as demonstrators block vehicle at key immigration building near Chicago
Protesters tried to block vehicles Friday outside a federal immigration enforcement building in suburban Chicago, leading to a confrontation with authorities who arrested three protesters and used a chemical agent to disperse the crowd.
Dozens of people carrying American flags and signs with the words “Hands off Chicago” were at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Broadview, about 12 miles west of Chicago.
Three protesters were taken into custody, ICE Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to The Associated Press.
White clouds from a chemical agent broke up the group, allowing vehicles to arrive and depart, according to video posted online by local TV crews.
Andre Vasquez, a member of the Chicago City Council at the protest, described it as “tear gas, a little pepper spray, a little mix of both.”
“They want us to be afraid,” Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, a Democrat, told reporters at the scene, referring to the Trump administration. “They want us to just kind of go into our little corners and not do anything. … We’re not going to let that happen.”
Kat Abughazaleh, a congressional candidate who joined protesters on several days, said she was thrown on the ground by federal agents and hit with tear gas Friday as she and other protesters stood arm-in-arm in front of a driveway, blocking a car.
Abughazaleh said officers dragged one of her friends away before others picked her up and threw her on the pavement. Abughazaleh said agents then used tear gas and pepper balls, causing her eyes to run and her throat to burn.
“Protesters were completely peaceful,” she said. “We had no weapons, just signs and songs. We were afraid and angry.”
ICE officials, meanwhile, described the protesters as “rioters” and accused them of assaulting law enforcement, slashing car tires and blocking the entrance of the facility. McLaughlin said local police refused to answer multiple calls for assistance from federal law enforcement.
The Broadview site is a two-story building that was used to temporarily hold immigrants before they’re detained or deported. Its windows have been covered with wood boards for weeks. Protesters regularly gathered there, including Catholic nuns who pray during vigils.
Activists and area leaders lately stepped up pushback to the surge of immigration agents in the Chicago area, aiming to deter agents, warn residents and keep attention on the man killed by an immigration officer last week.
Authorities said agents were pursuing a man with a history of reckless driving who entered the country illegally. They said Silverio Villegas Gonzalez evaded arrest and dragged an officer with his vehicle. The government said the officer fired because he feared for his life.
