The Trump Administration’s massive ICE deportations in Chicago, Operation Midway Blitz, began back in September 8. It did not take long for citizens of Chicago to take to the streets and protest against the major immigration crackdown taking place in their city. Protestors have shown their disdain for the presence of ICE by demonstrating in an ICE facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview, where they’ve clashed with the police. They’ve sat on the ground to prevent ICE vehicles from taking detainees inside the facility. The demonstrations were met with aggression, ICE agents resorting to the use of physical force, rubber bullets, and tear gas.
On October 4, various cars rammed into ICE patrol vehicles, resulting in 30-year-old woman, Marimar Martinez, being shot by agents who were “forced to deploy their weapons and fire defensive shots” claims Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin. The altercation escalated into a full-blown protest where agents used pepper spray and tear gas to disperse protestors. Martinez was charged for assault and attempted murder of a federal employee, alongside 21-year-old Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, who was driving one of the vehicles that clashed against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Deployment of National Guard
The repeated confrontations and backlash from Chicagoans exasperated Republican President Donald Trump, who pressured Illinois Governor, J.B. Pritzker, to deploy the National Guard. Pritzker labelled the idea of deploying military troops into the city as “absolutely outrageous and un-American”. Trump responded by authorizing more than 500 National Guard troops, 300 from Illinois, 200 from Texas, and 14 from California in an effort to protect federal officers and assets.
The attempt was swiftly blocked on Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge April Perry of the Northern District of Illinois, who filed a temporary 14-day restraining order against President Trump, Secretary of War (previously known as Secretary of Defense) Pete Hegseth, and other members of the administration from deploying the National Guard into the state.
The legal battle in the appeals court continues, with the federalization of the troops being allowed in the state, but not the deployment. Thus, the hundreds of troops remain at a military facility in Joliet, Illinois, more than 70 kilometers away from Chicago. The Trump Administration is persistent on the dispatch of troops into the Windy City. Vice President J.D. Vance has insisted
“We’re obviously going to litigate this as much as we can.”
Operation Midway Blitz targeted against J.B Pritzker
The friction between Governor Pritzker and the Trump administration is not something new. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Midway Blitz as a direct attack on Pritzker’s policies. When ICE launched the campaign back in September, McLaughlin stated,
“For years, Governor Pritzker and his fellow sanctuary politicians released Tren de Aragua gang members, rapists, kidnappers, and drug traffickers on Chicago’s streets—putting American lives at risk and making Chicago a magnet for criminals. President Trump and Secretary Noem have a clear message: no city is a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens. If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will hunt you down, arrest you, deport you, and you will never return.”
No End in Sight
Throughout this campaign, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has now shot and killed a man, detained children alongside U.S. citizens, and detained various local
journalists. Despite locals stating that the operation would only last 45 days, Russell Hott, the ICE field director in Chicago has stated they have no plans to leave any time soon, “Gas pedal down until we get to the end of this.” Hott has also stressed that agents have not overstepped their authority, calling them “highly-trained” and “highly-skilled.” Hott has characterized Chicago protestors as “violent rioters, agitators and vigilantes” after saying that they have already arrested 65 of them.
The case of Chicago is not isolated, with the overpolicing of ICE being condemned throughout various other major cities, such as Los Angeles, Portland, New York, and the nation’s capital, Washington D.C.
