Durbin hopes to meet with ICE this week about Chicago-area raids
[September 25, 2025]
By Ben Szalinski
SPRINGFIELD — U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said he is hoping to meet with
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials this week about their
operations in the Chicago area.
Illinois’ Democratic members of Congress have been seeking answers from
ICE and U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials about their
operations in the Chicago area with little success. Durbin told
reporters in Springfield on Wednesday that he has reached out to
Homeland Security several times seeking a meeting.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has left Illinois officials
from Gov. JB Pritzker down to local police chiefs almost entirely in the
dark about the government’s “Operation Midway Blitz.” Federal officials
say the operation is meant to arrest violent people illegally in the
United States who are living in the Chicago area.
Durbin said prior presidential administrations have always kept members
of Congress updated on their plans, but President Donald Trump’s second
administration is leaving lawmakers searching for answers.
“That is routine in my service in Congress over the last 40 years,”
Durbin said. “Routine for the administration of either political party
to be asked to explain what they are doing and how they are spending tax
funds. And they did it, but not this time.”
Durbin said there is a “chance” that changes this week, adding he has a
lot of “basic” questions for ICE.
“What’s happening to the people that you’re sweeping off the streets,
the detainees?” Durbin said. “Many times, their families don’t know what
happened to them and can’t come up with any information as to where
they’re even located.”
Transparency concerns
Illinois leaders have faulted ICE for a lack of transparency about its
work in the Chicago area, which also includes teams from Customs and
Border Protection.
Illinois’ Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to Noem on
Tuesday with 13 questions about DHS’ operations. The letter also
expressed concerns about the tactics federal agents are using to arrest
people and manage protests outside an ICE detention center in Broadview.
Last week, Pritzker released his own list of 22 questions he wants
reporters to ask DHS about immigration enforcement, including how people
detained by ICE are receiving legal information.
Illinois leaders said several incidents heightened their concerns,
including last week when Noem shared a video of herself at a raid of an
Elgin home where two U.S. citizens were briefly detained by immigration
authorities.
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U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin speaks to reporters following an event at the
Illinois Air National Guard base in Springfield on Wednesday, Sept.
24, 2025. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Campbell)
Franklin Park police released body camera footage following a deadly
shooting by ICE in the near west suburb that appeared to contradict DHS’
narrative about the incident. The footage captured by a Franklin Park
police officer after the shooting shows an ICE agent saying he had no
major injuries. A previous DHS statement said an agent was dragged by a
car and sustained “serious injuries,” according to the Chicago Tribune.
It’s unclear how many people have been arrested by immigration
authorities in their Chicago area crackdown or how long the operations
will last. Many people who have been arrested have no criminal history,
news outlets including NBC Chicago have reported.
“This notion that we’re dealing with rapists and murderers and
terrorists and criminally insane is a hoax, is a fraud,” Durbin said.
“If there’s a person who is dangerous in the community, remove them.”
Durbin added it’s “not American” for masked agents to arrest people who
have followed the country’s laws.
Trusting the Trump administration
Durbin also discussed the Trump administration’s decision to close an
FBI investigation of Tom Homan, a previous acting director of ICE who is
now overseeing the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
MSNBC reported Homan took a $50,000 bribe last year from undercover FBI
agents posing as business executives before Trump’s election last year
in exchange for government contracts if Homan earned a job in Trump’s
administration.
Trump’s Justice Department ended the investigation. The White House said
Homan did nothing wrong and accused the Biden administration of
entrapment and political motives.
“This $50,000, particularly as it relates to this mass deportation
effort, is embarrassing,” Durbin said.
He said the incident raises more questions about how much Trump’s
administration can be trusted.
“If we want to have confidence in government, we have to fight
corruption in government,” Durbin said. “And the notion that someone
coming into the administration takes a $50,000 payment so good word will
be expressed to the White House is troubling.”
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