Today November 20, 2025, 05:27 PM
Today November 20, 2025, 05:27 PM
By SARAH RAZA
For nearly two months, federal agents have been carrying out surprise raids in Chicago in pursuit of the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, emerging from unmarked vehicles in neighborhoods throughout the city to confront and detain stunned members of the public.
A culture of fear has taken hold, with some people too scared to leave home, especially in the city’s predominantly Latino communities. In social media posts and interviews, many have expressed shock at the agents’ use of force.
Since it began in early September, “Operation Midway Blitz” has resulted in more than 3,300 arrests, according to attorneys for detainees. In addition to people who were in the country illegally, many U.S. citizens have been swept up in the crackdown.
The operations have been dizzyingly random. Agents have targeted both high- and low-income neighborhoods. They’ve made stops at schools, workplaces and grocery stores. Even Millennium Park, the site of Cloud Gate — the sculpture lovingly known as “The Bean” — has seen arrests.
The crackdown has galvanized Chicagoans, who have banded together to protect their neighbors. They have borne witness the best way they could: by pulling out their phones to document what was happening.
The Associated Press has gathered some of these videos. For
