Judge wants immigration agents in Chicago area to wear body cameras
after clashes with public
[October 17, 2025]
By CHRISTINE FERNANDO
CHICAGO (AP) — Troubled by clashes between agents and the public, a
judge on Thursday said she will require federal immigration officers in
the Chicago area to wear body cameras, and she also summoned a senior
official to court next week to discuss an enforcement operation that has
resulted in more than 1,000 arrests.
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis said she was a “little startled” after
seeing TV images of street confrontations that involved tear gas and
other tactics during an immigration crackdown by President Donald
Trump's administration.
“I live in Chicago if folks haven’t noticed,” Ellis said. “And I’m not
blind, right?”
Separately, hours later, a federal appeals court ruled against the Trump
administration and said a lower court's temporary ban on deploying the
National Guard to assist immigration officers in Illinois would stay in
place while the government pursues an appeal.
Community efforts to oppose U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
have ramped up in Chicago, where neighborhood groups have assembled to
monitor ICE activity and film incidents involving agents. More than
1,000 immigrants have been arrested since September.
An immigration enforcement building in Broadview, outside Chicago, has
been the site of regular protests. The Trump administration has tried to
deploy Guard troops, in part to patrol at the Broadview location, but
the strategy was halted on Oct. 9 for at least two weeks by a different
federal judge.
Ellis last week said agents in the area must wear badges, and she banned
them from using certain riot control techniques against peaceful
protesters and journalists.
"I’m having concerns about my order being followed,” the judge said.
“I am adding that all agents who are operating in Operation Midway Blitz
are to wear body-worn cameras, and they are to be on,” Ellis said,
referring to the government's name for the crackdown.
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U.S. Justice Department attorney Sean Skedzielewski laid blame with
“one-sided and selectively edited media reports.” He also said it
wouldn't be possible to immediately distribute cameras.
"I understand that. I would not be expecting agents to wear
body-worn cameras they do not have,” Ellis said, adding that the
details could be worked out later.
“DHS will continue to oppose all efforts to vilify law enforcement
and prop up the cause of violent rioters," said Tricia McLaughlin,
spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. "Were a
court to enter such an order in the future, that would be an extreme
act of judicial activism."
Ellis said cameras would provide evidence to back up how agents
handle confrontations with protesters. Ellis said the field director
of the enforcement effort must appear in court Monday.
Gov. JB Pritzker praised the judge’s ruling, saying the government's
statements about arrests and other incidents, including last month’s
fatal shooting of a suburban Chicago man, have often been
inaccurate.
“They clearly lie about what goes on,” he told reporters. “It’s hard
for us to know right away what the truth is.”
In 2024, Immigration and Customs Enforcement began deploying about
1,600 body cameras to agents assigned to Enforcement and Removal
Operations.
At the time, officials said they would be provided to agents in
Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, Buffalo, New York and Detroit.
Other Homeland Security Department agencies require some agents to
wear cameras. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has released
body-camera video when force has been used by its agents or
officers.
Earlier this week, a Cook County judge barred ICE from arresting
people at courthouses in Chicago and the suburbs.
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