In the dead of night, the roar of helicopter blades shattered the quiet of a South Side apartment building, as federal agents rappelled down ropes and burst through doors, zip-tying terrified families—including U.S. citizens and children—in a scene straight out of a Hollywood thriller.
But this wasn’t a movie; it was just another day in Chicago’s escalating battle over immigration enforcement.
Activists, everyday residents, and top elected officials are sounding the alarm over what they describe as a dangerous ramp-up in aggressive tactics by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents.
From deploying tear gas canisters perilously close to elementary schools to handcuffing a city alderperson in a hospital emergency room, these operations are not only snaring undocumented immigrants but also ensnaring legal residents, American citizens, and even minors, according to eyewitness accounts and community reports.
“They are the ones that are making it a war zone,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker declared on CNN Sunday morning, his voice laced with frustration.
“They fire tear gas and smoke grenades, and they make it look like it’s a war zone.”
The surge in raids comes amid a broader Trump administration push to ramp up deportations, with more than 1,000 immigrants apprehended in the Chicago area alone since the crackdown kicked off last month.
Officials have also promised to station National Guard troops to support the effort, a move that’s already inflamed tensions in this sanctuary city of 2.7 million, where immigrant communities from Latin America, Africa, and beyond have long called home.
A Midnight Assault in South Shore
The helicopter raid early Tuesday in the largely Black South Shore neighborhood stands out as a particularly harrowing example.
What was supposed to be a routine sweep for gang ties turned into chaos at a five-story apartment complex that’s become a temporary haven for asylum-seeking migrants resettled in the city.
According to bystander videos, local news footage from NewsNation—which was embedded with the agents—and interviews with residents, unmarked trucks and Black Hawk helicopters encircled the building around dawn.
Agents then went floor by floor, pounding on doors and restraining anyone they encountered with plastic zip ties.
Rodrick Johnson, a 67-year-old U.S. citizen who lives there, recounted the ordeal to the Chicago Sun-Times: Agents smashed through his door without showing a warrant or allowing him to call a lawyer.
He was held for hours before being released. “I asked if they had a warrant, and I asked for a lawyer,” Johnson said.
“They never brought one.”
Dixon Romero, a volunteer with the grassroots group Southside Together, which has been aiding affected families, described a building left in disarray—doors hanging off hinges, families huddled in fear.
“Everyone we talked to didn’t feel safe,” Romero told reporters.
“This is not normal. It’s not OK. It’s not right.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed the operation netted 37 arrests, targeting alleged links to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, with some suspects accused of drug trafficking, weapons offenses, and immigration violations.
But details on the detainees remain scarce, and DHS has stonewalled questions about how children were handled—some reports indicate kids were separated from parents and restrained.
Pritzker, a Democrat in his second term, has ordered state agencies to probe allegations of “military-style tactics” against families, vowing that such methods have no place in dealing with children.
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) echoed this, noting that four U.S. citizens were briefly detained in the raid alone, with some residents slapped with ankle monitors and others still missing.
Brandon Lee, an ICIRR organizer, didn’t mince words in a public statement: “It is plain and clear that ICE and CBP are violent forces in our communities.”
Tear Gas in the Streets, Fear in the Schools
The aggression isn’t simply confined to dramatic aerial assaults.
Over the past week, chemical agents like tear gas and smoke bombs have become a grim staple of these operations, drifting into public spaces and endangering bystanders.
On Friday, amid a flurry of sightings reported to ICIRR’s emergency hotline—which logged over 800 calls that day—agents allegedly lobbed a canister into a street in the northwest side’s Logan Square neighborhood, just blocks from Funston Elementary School.
School officials, spooked by the acrid fumes and potential risks, kept kids inside for recess.
That same afternoon, the drama spilled into a hospital, where Chicago Alderperson Jessie Fuentes confronted agents who had dragged an injured man—pursued on foot during a raid—to the ER after he broke his leg fleeing.
Fuentes demanded to see a warrant; instead, she ended up in handcuffs herself.
State Rep. Lilian Jiménez, a fellow Democrat, captured the city’s outrage in a blistering statement: “ICE acted like an invading army in our neighborhoods. Helicopters hovered above our homes, terrifying families and disturbing the peace of our community. These shameful and lawless actions are not only a violation of constitutional rights but of our most basic liberty: the right to live free from persecution and fear.”
Saturday brought yet another flashpoint: Agents shot a woman they said tried to run them down with her car after they were “boxed in” by a convoy of 10 vehicles.
DHS later claimed she was armed, but activists countered that the agents’ reckless driving caused a multi-car pileup—and that the woman, a U.S. citizen, was unjustly detained.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the notorious ICE Barbie, pushed back hard on Fox & Friends Sunday, framing the operations as a necessary response to mortal dangers faced by agents.
“It’s an extremely dangerous situation,” she insisted. A situation created by Noem and ICE.
Suburbs Fight Back in Court
The ripple effects are hitting Chicago’s suburbs hard, too.
In Broadview, a working-class village of 8,000 just west of the city, an immigration processing center has turned into ground zero for protests and clashes.
Daily demonstrations outside the facility have led to near-constant arrests, prompting civil rights groups to decry the agents’ heavy-handed responses.
Frustrated local leaders have launched three criminal probes into federal conduct and filed a federal lawsuit Friday demanding the removal of an 8-foot security fence erected around the center.
Officials argue it’s illegal, blocks emergency fire access, and poses a “immediate public safety hazard.”
Meanwhile, a 2022 consent decree—meant to curb abusive arrest practices by ICE in Illinois and five other states—technically expired in May, but attorneys are pushing for an extension amid dozens of fresh violation claims filed in recent weeks.
A ruling could reshape how these raids unfold.
Also Read: Economists Now Warn Trump’s Immigration Policies Will Slow US Economy
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