Operation Midway Blitz Leads to Over 900 Arrests in Illinois
More than 900 arrests have been recorded as part of Operation Midway Blitz, which criminalizes undocumented migrants and directs federal forces to apprehend them in sanctuary cities, reports 24brussels.
On October 3, 2025, demonstrators gathered outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Broadview, west of Chicago. Law enforcement dispersed the crowd, resulting in at least five arrests for aggravated assault on a police officer, as well as resisting and obstruction of justice, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.
The police maintained a presence to curb the protests, coinciding with the visit of Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, who observed the situation from the rooftop of the facility surrounded by armed agents and a media crew. El Centro Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino was also present, attempting to manage the protestors and media.
This federal enforcement comes amid Operation Midway Blitz, a crackdown initiated in September that has led to over 800 arrests in the Chicago area, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This escalated federal presence compounds migrant detention measures in Chicago, a city known for its inclusive policies towards undocumented immigrants.
Notably, protests against ICE’s tactics have occurred in multiple cities, including Portland, Oregon, as residents display resistance to federal actions targeting Democratic-led urban environments. In Chicago, grassroots mobilization began in early September after local officials warned of an impending “large-scale enforcement campaign” as part of the Trump administration’s immigration strategy.
Protestors brandished signs that read messages like “ICE melts under resistance” and “Hate has no home here” while chanting against federal operations. Nicole Bandyk, a nearby resident, joined the mobilization after witnessing coverage on social media, stating, “I’m not going to look back and say I stayed home doing nothing. It’s wrong… It’s just wrong what they’re doing. We are becoming a fascist authoritarian state and it is wrong.”
On October 1, the DHS reported over 900 immigrants had been arrested, designating them as “the worst of the worst” without disclosing whether the detainees had prior criminal records.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker voicing his opposition, criticized the federal agents in a Facebook post. “Federal agents, under the orders of Secretary Noem, have been capturing families for weeks, scaring law-abiding residents regardless of due process rights, and even detaining U.S. citizens,” he wrote. He further stated that “Secretary Noem should no longer be able to set foot inside the state of Illinois without any form of public accountability.”
The recent wave of arrests transpired two weeks after a Chicago-area Democratic mayor reported that federal agents utilized tear gas outside the same ICE facility.
Operation Midway Blitz operates on the premise of categorizing undocumented immigrants as “criminals,” intensifying efforts to apprehend them even in sanctuary areas like Illinois. Lawsuits have been filed alleging unlawful detentions, including at least three U.S. citizens, and highlighting potential violations of arrest protocols.
The protests underscore an escalating conflict between local communities opposing federal immigration policies and the government’s response to xenophobia and hate speech entrenched during the Trump administration. With street closures and deployments of state police and sheriffs, Broadview encapsulates the struggle against a backdrop of intensified immigration enforcement.
