Activists say immigration enforcement increased as Chicago waits for
promised federal intervention
[September 16, 2025]
By SOPHIA TAREEN
CHICAGO (AP) — Activists in Chicago’s well-connected immigrant rights
network say there’s been a noticeable uptick in immigration enforcement
agents in recent days, deepening the dread in communities already
fearful of the large-scale arrests or aggressive tactics used in other
cities targeted by President Donald Trump.
Those tactics haven’t been seen yet in or around the nation’s
third-largest city. but activists report a spike in arrests in
immigrant-heavy city neighborhoods and suburbs of Chicago. Immigration
officers are focused on isolated traffic stops and there’s been an
increased presence of them at local courthouses.
“We definitely feel escalated operations are already here,” said
Lawrence Benito, head of the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee
Rights.
The Trump administration has said it would send an influx of immigration
agents and National Guard troops to Chicago, over the fierce of
objections of local leaders and residents. But Trump has seesawed on
sending a military deployment to Chicago. Last week he said he would
send the National Guard to more cooperative places, but then on Monday
he again floated Chicago as the next possibility.
Adding to the confusion, was a new Department of Homeland Security
campaign announced last week that would target sanctuary policies around
Chicago. DHS officials have not said if what it has termed “Operation
Midway Blitz” is part of the federal intervention promised by Trump.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who has objected to any federal intervention,
told reporters Monday that it was clear that immigration operations were
ramping up around Chicago.
“ICE has been gathering its agents. It has taken them longer than I
think they anticipated,” he said. “I expect that they now have more
people on the ground and will effectuate their plans to an even greater
degree.”
Calls to an emergency hotline to report sightings of immigration
officers have increased in the past week. One recent day the tally
topped 500, though the calls included repeat information, mistaken
reports and anti-immigrant harassment.
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People protest outside of an immigration facility guarded by federal
agents Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Laura
Bargfeld)
Immigration activists cited more aggressive tactics with masked and
armed agents and some dressed in military-style camouflage. Already,
many immigrant communities have been on edge, and fears were revived
last week after a federal agent fatally shot a man who was allegedly
evading arrest.
Activists say most arrests have come through traffic stops by U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That included Monday when there
was heavy ICE presence in the suburb of West Chicago, about 45 miles
(72 kilometers) from Chicago.
Illinois state Sen. Karina Villa cited more than 15 arrests in the
immigrant-heavy community of about 25,000, where roughly half the
population is Latino. Most came from the traffic stop of a van, she
said. Other arrests took place at a grocery store, apartment complex
and a city street.
Villa did not have details of what prompted the stops or the
circumstances of the arrests.
The flurry of activity prompted Villa, a West Chicago Democrat, to
follow ICE vehicles Monday and livestream on Facebook. In one video,
she walks along a busy intersection, as an SUV flashed police lights
and another drove away.
“Not in my city! Not in my city!” she said to the drivers.
Officials with the Department of Homeland Security did not answer
questions Monday about any arrests in Chicago, pointing to a news
release last week about “Operation Midway Blitz,” which has netted
13 arrests. However, at least three people were picked up out of
state, in Indiana and Kentucky, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
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Associated Press reporter Christine Fernando contributed to this
report.
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