State investigating landlord of Chicago apartments raided by immigration
agents
[January 23, 2026]
By Ben Szalinski
Shortly after midnight on Sept. 30, 300 federal law enforcement agents,
including some rappelling from Black Hawk helicopters, raided a Chicago
apartment building in search of Venezuelan gang members.
Many of the building’s residents were rounded up and detained,
regardless of citizenship status, as their homes were ransacked by
members of the U.S. Border Patrol, the FBI and other federal law
enforcement agencies.
The Illinois Department of Human Rights announced Wednesday it would
launch a new investigation of the building’s landlords. The state
alleges the raid in the city’s South Shore neighborhood came after the
building’s owner and management tipped off federal authorities, claiming
the 130-unit apartment building was becoming overrun by members of Tren
de Aragua — a violent Venezuelan gang.
Shortly after the arrests, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security
spokesperson said two confirmed gang members were arrested. But
according to reporting by ProPublica and others, no one arrested during
the raid was ever charged with a crime. Federal officials have not
provided evidence that any Venezuelans arrested were members of Tren de
Aragua.
The complaint alleges that the building’s owner, a Wisconsin-based firm,
according to state records, “sought to intimidate and coerce the
building’s Black and Hispanic tenants into leaving their apartment units
based on stereotypes about Venezuelan immigrants” in violation of state
law prohibiting discrimination and intimidation against tenants based on
their race, ancestry and national origin.
IDHR said violations also occurred when the landlords refused to carry
out maintenance.
“7500 S. Shore building management blamed Venezuelan tenants for their
own failure to provide needed locks and security service, as well as
other needed maintenance and repairs, and perpetuated stereotypes about
Venezuelan gang members to send a message that tenants born outside the
United States were considered gang associates, even if they were law
abiding,” IDHR’s complaint states.
The complaint adds building management began clearing units within hours
of the raid that left many people’s doors off the hinges and their
belongings destroyed. Residents who remained at the apartment building
were forced to move out in December after the building was deemed unsafe
by a Cook County judge, according to Block Club Chicago.
“These allegations of housing discrimination raise serious concerns for
people struggling to maintain housing – and the communities that have
been profiled and relentlessly targeted by the federal government during
its violent immigration enforcement operations,” Gov. JB Pritzker said
in a statement.
The owners could be subject to civil penalties if found in violation of
the Illinois Human Rights Act.
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Members of the United States Border Patrol walk out of the Dirksen
federal courthouse in Chicago through a sea of reporters and
protesters on Oct. 28, 2025. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew
Adams)
Details of the raid
The raid was part of Operation Midway Blitz, the federal immigration
enforcement campaign that began in the Chicago area in early September
and lasted through mid-November.
The raid was the subject of a video produced by DHS and set to dramatic
music that shows federal agents led by Border Patrol Commander Gregory
Bovino searching through apartments and detaining residents in vans.
Homeland Security’s social media caption read: “To every criminal
illegal alien: Darkness is no longer your ally. We will find you.”
Thirty-seven immigrants were arrested and several were eventually
deported, according to ProPublica, while U.S. citizens were also
detained with zip ties for several hours during the raid.
In raw video footage released by NewsNation, Bovino said U.S. citizens
living at the apartment were temporarily detained because it was a
“high-risk operation” and “no rights have been violated today.”
Several residents said in interviews with ProPublica that agents hit
them in the head with guns, pushed them up against the wall, and threw
flash-bangs into their units. Others said their children were taken
outside with few clothes on.
The state additionally alleges that people were separated based on their
race, ancestry and national origin, and children were among those
detained with zip ties. Federal agents also did not honor any requests
to see warrants or speak to attorneys.
Apartment issues
The apartment had issues before the feds arrived, however. The building
failed 18 of 21 inspections over the last two years and the city sued
its owners in 2024 for failing to maintain the building, according to
ProPublica.
ProPublica also reported several tenants described positive
relationships with Venezuelans who lived there, many of whom arrived in
Chicago in 2022 during an influx of migrants to Texas’ southern border
who were sent to Chicago via bus.
But other residents describe issues with guns, parties, drugs and
prostitution by both citizens and immigrants. Conditions in the building
were also generally abhorrent with water leaks, trash piling up, bug and
rodent infestations and damaged walls, according to ProPublica.
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