ICE raids historic Mexican neighborhood
Agents descend upon Chicago's Little Village
By: Michael Loria
USA today
CHICAGO - Federal immigration enforcement agents raided the Chicago's historic Mexican neighborhood on October 22, [2025] removing several people causing car accidents and brandishing weapons, according to residents, local leaders and advocates.
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Agents in the morning descented on the commercial corridor of Little Village, a South Side neighborhood and the heart of Chicago's Mexican community. Photos and video from the scene show masked U.S. customs and Border Patrol agents sprinting after people and local business owners locking their doors ahead of agents.
..... "A reign of terror was brought upon our neighborhood," local Alderman Mike Rodriquez told USA Today. "They took at least eight people. Of those eight, four were U.S. citizens, and two were members of my staff."
..... The actions were part of President Donald Trump's Operation Midway Blitz, his Chicago-area immigration enforcement crackdown.
..... Trump launched the blitz on September 8, [2025] saying it was needed to catch :the worst of the worst" criminal immigrants. Many local critics say instead innocent people are being terrorized.
..... The raid came as Chicago awaited the Supreme Court's upcoming decision on whether Trump can deploy the National Guard to the city.
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The president moved to deploy hundreds of Illinois and Texas National Guard troops to the Chicago region as part of his blitz campaign. But a federal judge in downtown Chicago temporarily barred him from doing so.
..... White House lawyers argued that a potentiate "rebellion" was underway in Chicago, citing protests outside a local mitigation enforcement facility and in response to federal agents making arrest in city neighborhoods. They said that immigration agents could not enforce federal law without the help of the military.
..... U.S. district Judge April M. Perry questioned whether the Homeland Security allegations White House lawyers cited in thier argument were "tethered to reality."
.....The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld Perry's decision. But Trump's lawyers appealed again and the case is now before the Supreme Court. It's unclear when they could rule.
..... Still, also on October 22, [2025] Trump administration lawyers agreed to let Perry's order barring the National Guard deployment remain in place until the Supreme Court rules.
..... Legal experts say the White House's officials indices they believe the high court will rule in their favor, accoridng to rerpoting by The Chicago Sun-Times.
,,,,, Nonetheless, the ruling out of the federal courthouse in downtown Chicago have not slowed the pace of immigration enforcement rads throughout the region.
..... On October 22, [2025] agents raided the historicist South Side Mexican community and a neighboring suburb; on October 21, [2025] an Illinois state House representative said federal agents stopped him at gunpoint for documenting raids on the North, Side; and a Chicago alderwomen said she was also stopped by agents for documenting their activities.
..... Homeland Security officials did not respond to request for comment on their raids.
..... Agency spokespeople last answered questions about the blitz on October 8, [2025 saying "ICE and U.S. Border Patrol officers have arrested mere than 1,500 illegal aliens - including criminal pedophiles, murderers, child abusers, kidnappers, gang members, and armed robbers."
..... A group of journalists, clergy and protesters file a lawsuit against Homeland Seleucid agents over their use of chemical weapons on people in the Chicago area.
..... In an October 9 [2025] court hearing, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Eric Hamilton said feral agents had deployed $100,000 of so-called nonlethal weapons to stop "riots" from hindering immigration enfrocement.
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U.S. District Judge Sara L Ellis issued an order limiting agents; use of chemical weapons in the Chicago area and compelling them to wear identification.
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Ellis amended her order a week later on October 16 [2025] to ensure agents have body-worn cameras after she became concerned that immigration agents were not following her orders. She also ordered top Homeland Security officials into court to testify.
..... customs and Border Patrol Deputy Incident Commander Kyle Harvick and Deputy Immigration and Customs Enforcement Field Office Director Shawn Byers both told the judge on October 20 [2025] that agents were following Ellis' orders to issue warning before suing chemical weapons.
..... Locals being teargassed say they have not heard any warnings being used. Perry found in a separate case that Homeland Security's account of events in the city was not reliable.
..... Harvick also justified federal agents shooting a local paster with a pepper ball. A clip of the incident showed the Rev. David Back standing among a group of protesters before he was shot directly in the head by an agent posted on a rooftop,
..... "What's not being shown is he was given multiple commands to move," Harvick said.
..... Byers said 75 people have been arrested in the Chicago area in connection with attempting to block immigration enforcement.
..,. Up next in the case, Ellis is allowing Customs and Border Patrol Commander at-Large Chief Gregory Bovino to be deposed in connection with how he has directed his agents.
..... Bovino is the face of the blitz. Among actions he's participated in are the raids on Little Village and a September 30 [2025 raid on a south Side apartment building that saw agents rappelling from Black Hawk helicopters.
..... Some residents have taken to suing plastic whistles to signal that ICE agents or Customs and Border Protection agents are present. It warns undocumented people to flee and invites U.S. citizens to come to the scene to record arrest, give detainees legal information and discourage agents from lingering.
..... Contributing: Reuters