ICE denies excessive force as it broadens immigration arrests in Chicago

ICE officials say they did not use excessive force as they broaden immigration arrests in Chicago and its suburbs under Operation Midway Blitz. The operation, launched Sept. 8, comes as local officials have resisted cooperation with federal immigration authorities, complicating enforcement in a city known for sanctuary policies.

At 3:30 a.m., ten ICE officers gathered in a suburban parking lot for a briefing. They reviewed a description, synchronized radios, and discussed the closest hospital in case something went wrong. "Let's plan on not being there," one officer said before they climbed into vehicles and headed out. Across Chicago and nearby suburbs, multiple teams fanned out as part of the effort, with agents describing the operation as a crackdown on people believed to be in the country illegally and with criminal records. In one instance, an agent signaled that they had the physical description of the target but could not see his face clearly. After closing in, the team intercepted a car and discovered the man they were pursuing was not the target but was in the United States illegally, so they arrested him. Soon after dawn, the person they were seeking was seen leaving a house and arrested as well. ICE said both men were in the country illegally and had criminal records, and Marcos Charles, acting head of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, called the operation a "successful" one with no safety issues.

Activists and critics say that such tactics are increasingly the norm rather than the exception in immigration enforcement. They point to videos showing ICE agents smashing windows to arrest suspects, a chaotic showdown outside a popular Italian restaurant in San Diego, and the arrest of a Tufts University student outside her apartment in Somerville, Massachusetts, as neighbors watched. Charles said ICE is using an "appropriate" amount of force and that agents are responding to suspects who increasingly are not following commands. He attributed the shift to what he described as rising noncompliance, which he said is fueled by inflammatory rhetoric from activists who encourage resistance.

Alderman Andre Vasquez, who chairs the Chicago City Council’s committee on immigrant and refugee rights, objected to that framing. He said ICE’s presence in the city represents a clash with local policy and accused federal agents of provoking activists to justify greater use of force, including a possible deployment of National Guard troops. "ICE does not belong here," Vasquez said, arguing that the agency’s tactics undermine public safety and threaten community trust.

Chicago’s tensions were already running high when a Sept. 12 shooting added a new chapter. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said an ICE officer fired on Silverio Villegas González, a Mexican immigrant who tried to evade arrest by driving toward officers and dragging one of them. The department said the officer felt his life was threatened. Villegas González died, and the officer was injured. Charles declined to comment on the shooting because an investigation is open, but he said he had met the officer in the hospital and believed the force used was appropriate. The officer involved was not wearing a body camera, according to Charles. Governor JB Pritzker called for a full, factual accounting of the incident, and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned the death and urged a thorough investigation. The death heightened concerns among immigrant communities and drew statements from local lawmakers such as Norma Hernandez, a Democrat who said the tactics risk loss of life in the community.

In another incident under the Midway Blitz that drew criticism, a U.S. citizen was detained by immigration agents alongside his father and was struck with a stun gun three times in Des Plaines, a suburb northwest of Chicago, according to the man’s lawyer. Local advocates condemned the use of force, along with reports that agents wore masks, did not identify themselves, and did not wear body cameras—actions that contradict Chicago Police Department policy. Charles said there is no timetable for ending the ICE-led operation in the Chicago area, and as of Thursday, immigration enforcement officials had arrested nearly 550 people. He said about 50% to 60% of those arrests were targeted, meaning the authorities were specifically looking for particular individuals, and he noted that more than 200 officers had been drawn in from across the country.

Officials emphasized that the operation reflects a broader federal push to address immigration enforcement in jurisdictions that limit local cooperation. They argued the prior leniency allowed certain individuals—especially those with criminal histories—to remain in the country illegally, and that the operation marked a deliberate shift to confront those realities in Chicago.

The episode sits at the intersection of national immigration policy and local politics in a city that has long limited cooperation with federal authorities. It underscores ongoing tensions between federal enforcement priorities and sanctuary-style protections in urban areas, a dynamic that has defined much of the public conversation about immigration in the United States amid a national debate over how to balance public safety, immigration law, and civil rights.