Is ICE chilling Chicago? Trump 'blitz' draws rage from immigrant groups

Source: USA Today

Updated Sep. 9, 2025, 1:08 p.m. ET


CHICAGO – President Donald Trump's "Operation Midway Blitz" is hitting a fever pitch as local leaders claim immigrants are wrongfully being snatched off the street by federal agents looking to root out violent criminals. The White House vehemently argues that the Chicago operation is aimed at targeting undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes, but local community members say it's causing fear among law-abiding neighbors.

At least four people have been arrested, according to the Department of Homeland Security. "These abductions were seemingly random, with agents profiling and approaching community members on the street," Rey Wences of the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights said at a news conference. "What we're experiencing today is not normal. People going out in the street and being snatched from their family members is not normal."

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids began on Sept. 7, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Trump has said federal agents are targeting "the worst of the worst" criminals. The four people arrested have been charged with crimes, an agency spokesperson said in an official statement.

Some Chicagoans say local workers and business owners are being targeted instead of criminals. "It’s never been about arresting the worst of the worst," Alderwoman Jeylú Gutiérrez, the City Council representative for Chicago’s 14th Ward, said at a news conference on Sept. 8. Gutiérrez is an immigrant from Mexico. "It’s about terrorizing our communities. But we will not be intimidated."

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/09/09/is-ice-chilling-chicago-trump-blitz-draws-rage-from-immigrants/86047771007/