On the morning of September 19, protestors outside of a Broadview, Illinois Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building were teargassed by federal law enforcement officers. 10 were arrested, according to Brad Thomson, an attorney at People’s Law Office. All 10 have since been released from custody.
Among the crowd were Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, both of whom have since released statements condemning actions taken by federal agents at the protest and ICE’s presence in and around the city of Chicago. Chicago Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez also attended the protests.
“I have to tell you, it was terrifying. It was impossible to breathe… but the point is that they are trying to intimidate us,” Biss said in a post on X. A video posted on X by Abughazaleh shows her being thrown to the ground by immigration agents.
In a statement to CNN, ICE claimed that over 100 “rioters” assaulted immigration officers, blocked the building’s entrance and trespassed on private property. In a post on X, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later described the protestors as “desperate politicians [who] want their 15 minutes of fame.”
Later that evening, protesters at the facility were teargassed after tensions continued to rise from the start of the day. By September 23, new fences were installed outside of the facility.
Chicago and Illinois leaders have released statements condemning ICE’s response to the protests at the facility, among them Cook County Board of Commissioners President Toni Preckwinkle and Illinois State Senator and candidate for Comptroller Karina Villa.
The protests came in the wake of increased ICE presence in Chicago as a part of the DHS’ “Midway Blitz,” described on the department’s website as an effort targeting “criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois,” placing added blame on Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker for enforcing sanctuary city policies that protect undocumented immigrants from federal deportation efforts.
In an interview with the Associated Press on September 19, Marcos Charles, the acting head of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, said that over 500 arrests had been made in Chicago as a part of Midway Blitz (as of October 14, the DHS claims the number of total arrests has risen to over 1500). Of the arrests, Charles estimated that 50-60% were “targeted arrests” (ICE arrests of people the agency was specifically searching for), while the remainder were “collateral arrests” (ICE arrests of other illegal residents who were not searched for but the agency comes across in their operations). Collateral arrests were not allowed during the Biden administration, but were quickly reinstated as department policy once Trump retook office at the beginning of 2025.
ICE’s Chicago presence has remained constant since then, with its agents, as well as those from the U.S. Border Patrol, marching and making arrests downtown in military-style gear, a move Pritzker has described as a “show of intimidation” in several posts online.
Activities at Lake Forest Academy have been affected, too: the Sophomore Retreat, meant to take place in the city on September 29, was postponed indefinitely due to concerns over ICE’s presence in the city. “While our intent was to create a retreat centered on connection, belonging, and shared experience, we recognize that this climate could detract from that goal,” wrote Erin English, Director of Experiential Learning, in an email to the sophomore class.
In the early morning hours of September 30, a Black Hawk helicopter descended over a South Shore apartment building, accompanied by federal agents, as immigration enforcement arrested 37 undocumented immigrants. According to interviews by tenants with local news, all residents of the building, regardless of citizenship status, were detained. At least one U.S. citizen with an active arrest warrant was turned over to the Chicago Police Department, who have by-and-large refused to assist with immigration operations (and are legally barred by the city from doing so).
Incidents continued through to October 4, when a federal agent shot a woman in Brighton Park after she allegedly drove her car into a border patrol vehicle. Protesters soon arrived at the scene, causing a standoff between them and U.S. Border Patrol agents. In efforts to disperse the crowd, immigration officers used tear gas on the crowd, with over two dozen Chicago Police Department officers — called to assist with crowd control — being impacted by the use of the weapon.
Beyond on-site protests, Illinois elected officials have continued to speak out against the increased immigration enforcement presence in Chicago. Pritzker has repeatedly added onto his comments about the agencies’ operations in several public appearances, accusing them of creating a “war zone” in the city and “terrorizing families” (with regards to the raid in South Shore). He later accused the Trump administration of staging a “military-style invasion” of the city.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has taken action to limit federal agents’ ability to operate in the city, preventing them from using city-owned property as staging areas and threatening “dramatic action” in response to President Donald Trump’s “war on Chicago” in a press conference on October 6. In response, the White House released a statement describing Johnson’s “ICE-free zones” as “a disgusting betrayal of every law- abiding citizen,” adding that the policy “coddles criminal illegal alien killers… who prey on innocent Americans.”
Attention to the issue has turned increasingly national, with the Trump administration threatening to send 700 troops from the National Guard, of which 300 are from Illinois and 400 are from Texas. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has sided with Trump in sending the National Guard to Chicago; Pritzker has refused to call the troops (which typically fall under the command of a state’s governor), raising the legal question of if Trump has the authority to do so — Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, which authorizes the president to call in the national guard to suppress rebellion and domestic violence.
As the tensions between Chicago and the federal government have rapidly intensified, the dispute will continue to massively impact the fate of the city’s undocumented immigrants, the U.S. federal system of power and just how much autonomy local and state officials can exercise as the Trump administration attempts to push them aside.