‘Operation Midway Blitz’ feels like a deja vu of L.A.’s immigration raid summer
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Los Angeles was just the prelude.
The Department of Homeland Security has been carrying out a large-scale immigration enforcement campaign in Chicago — dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz” — since early September, detaining at least 1,000 people in the process.
As my colleague Susan Rust highlights in her recent dispatch from Chicago, what’s happening there feels like a mirror image of what transpired here over the summer.
The Trump administration has justified unleashing federal agents on the country’s third-largest city by portraying it as a “war zone,” alleging that Illinois’ status as a sanctuary state has resulted in undocumented criminals running rampant on the streets of Chicago.
The White House even released a cinematic video on social media showing agents putting a stop to all the lawlessness in the area. Except, it turns out some of the footage used in the clip was outdated and wasn’t even filmed in Chicago.
In fact, the only scene remotely resembling a war zone was caused by federal agents, who in the early morning of Sept. 30 literally descended from Black Hawk helicopters to an apartment building in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood that was alleged to be a hot spot for members of Tren de Aragua, a multinational criminal organization with roots in Venezuela.
Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Border Patrol zip-tied and detained hundreds of residents outside of the building. In the end, the military-style raid resulted in the arrest of 37 individuals, only one of whom had any connection to Tren de Aragua.
“I’ve been on military bases for a good portion of my life,” Darrell Ballard, who lives next door to the apartment complex, told CNN. “And the activity I saw — it was an invasion.”
In reality, as was the case in L.A., it’s been business as usual for large swaths of Chicago — last Sunday, 50,000 runners hit the city’s streets for the Chicago Marathon, which went off without a hitch. Much of the immigration enforcement activity has been concentrated in predominantly Latino neighborhoods, deeply impacting those communities. Students have stopped going to class and local businesses have seen their bottom lines affected.
“Business is down 60%,” Victor Sanchez, who owns a taco truck in Chicago, told The Times. “I don’t know if they have been taken, or if they are too afraid to come out. All I know is they aren’t coming here anymore.”
Since the start of Operation Midway Blitz, federal agents have: fired pepper balls at a pastor in the head (an action defended by DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin); deployed tear gas in a busy neighborhood; arrested a local police officer whom they accuse of overstaying his visa; detained an alderperson checking in on a constituent, as well as a WGN producer who was simply walking to a bus stop; orchestrated a PIT maneuver on a vehicle; and shot and killed a man shortly after he had dropped off his daughter at school.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign appears to be losing the battle of public opinion. According to an Economist/YouGov poll released last week, the majority of people surveyed said that ICE agents have been using excessive force, that they should wear uniforms while conducting arrests and that they should not be allowed to wear masks while doing so.
At least one Democratic politician is already looking to retaliate.
“The tables will turn one day,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in an interview with Fox 32 Chicago of federal agents. “These people should recognize that maybe they’re not gonna get prosecuted today, although we’re looking at doing that, but they may get prosecuted after the Trump administration because the statute of limitations would not have run out.”
If all of this feels bleak and you’re looking for a silver lining, I’ll offer this. Much like we saw in L.A., Chicagoans are stepping up for their most vulnerable neighbors — from blowing whistles alerting people of the presence of federal agents to organizing street vendor buyouts.
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In 2021, the Times published its first Día de Muertos digital altar. The project was born out of a desire to virtually replicate the communal experience found in the many events observing the holiday held across Southern California that were canceled that year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Wednesday, the fifth iteration of the digital altar went live.
The tool lets readers make an ofrenda by uploading a photo of a loved one who has passed along with a short written message. These submissions are manually reviewed by a De Los staffer before they’re added into the community altar.
I’ll be writing more about the holiday’s growing significance for me in next week’s newsletter. In the meantime, staff writer Andrea Flores has compiled this helpful list of 28 Día de Muertos events taking place in the region over the next two weeks.
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Stories we read this week that we think you should read
Unless otherwise noted, stories below were published by the Los Angeles Times.
Immigration
- Deported journalist Mario Guevara speaks out about his new life in El Salvador.
- “They smashed into me”: Activist says video shows ICE rammed his truck. Agents claim the opposite.
- L.A. County declares state of emergency to fight against ICE immigration raids.
- One refugee’s painful journey. Fleeing the U.S. and splitting up her family amid the Trump-era raids.
- Trump claims Democrats want to use federal funds to give undocumented residents healthcare. That’s misleading.
- More than 170 U.S. citizens have been held by immigration agents. They’ve been kicked, dragged and detained for days. [ProPublica]
- Hackers dox hundreds of DHS, ICE, FBI and DOJ officials. [404 Media]
Arts, culture and media
- In the new “Juan Gabriel” Netflix docuseries, the late singer tells his story in his own words.
- Festival Chapín brings Guatemalan community together despite ICE fears.
- Comedian Angelo Colina on performing in Spanish: “This is the closest to punk that we’ve ever been.”
- “Mother warrior” Cardi B speaks out about defending her children after a feud with Nicki Minaj.
- San Cha upends telenovela archetypes in experimental new opera, “Inebria me.”
- Film review: Guillermo del Toro’s longtime passion project “Frankenstein” is its own marvelous monster.
- How an Echo Park historian is preserving — and reclaiming — L.A.’s chola culture. [Los Angeles Public Press]
- NBC News’ 150 layoffs gut Black, Latino, Asian American and LGBTQ+ diversity teams. [The Wrap]
Sports
- “Call ICE”: Brewers backer taunts Dodgers fan, is now out of a job.
- New study details impact of Latinos on U.S. sports economy. [Today]
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Ideas expressed in the piece
Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago mirrors the immigration enforcement tactics that unfolded in Los Angeles during the summer, with the Trump administration justifying the campaign by inaccurately portraying Chicago as a “war zone” plagued by undocumented criminals. The administration’s narrative appears fabricated, as evidenced by a White House social media video that used outdated footage not even filmed in Chicago to depict alleged lawlessness in the city.
The military-style tactics employed by federal agents have been excessive and invasive, exemplified by the September 30 raid where ICE, FBI, and Border Patrol agents descended from Black Hawk helicopters onto a South Shore apartment building, zip-tying and detaining hundreds of residents. This operation resulted in only 37 arrests, with merely one individual having any connection to the Tren de Aragua criminal organization that agents claimed to be targeting, demonstrating the operation’s ineffectiveness and disproportionate response.
Federal agents have engaged in numerous instances of misconduct and excessive force throughout the operation, including firing pepper balls at a pastor, deploying tear gas in busy neighborhoods, detaining an alderperson and a television producer without justification, executing a PIT maneuver on a vehicle, and fatally shooting a man shortly after he dropped off his daughter at school. Public opinion has turned against these tactics, with polling showing that the majority of Americans believe ICE agents are using excessive force and should be required to wear uniforms and prohibited from wearing masks during arrests.
The enforcement campaign has disproportionately impacted predominantly Latino neighborhoods while most of Chicago continues functioning normally, as demonstrated by the Chicago Marathon proceeding without incident. Local businesses in targeted communities have experienced severe economic consequences, with students staying home from school and residents too frightened to venture outside, creating a climate of fear that has devastated the economic and social fabric of these neighborhoods.
Different views on the topic
The Department of Homeland Security maintains that Operation Midway Blitz specifically targets criminal undocumented immigrants who have committed serious offenses in Chicago and Illinois, with the operation honoring Katie Abraham, a Chicago woman killed in a drunk driving hit-and-run crash by an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala[1]. The administration frames the enforcement campaign as a necessary response to sanctuary policies that allegedly shield dangerous criminals from federal law enforcement.
Trump administration officials assert that the operation represents a broader commitment to public safety and removing violent criminals from American communities, characterizing the enforcement actions as targeting only “the worst of the worst” offenders including pedophiles, gang members, and armed robbers[2]. Federal officials emphasize that the increased immigration enforcement activity aims to remove dangerous criminals from local streets as part of a nationwide initiative to combat violent crime.
The administration argues that Democratic state and local leaders in Illinois have obstructed federal law enforcement efforts and prioritized protecting criminal immigrants over the safety of American citizens, with officials contending that Governor J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson have refused to cooperate with federal authorities[1][2]. This framing positions the federal intervention as necessary due to the failure of local leadership to address public safety concerns related to undocumented immigrants.
