Park Ridge, IL – Immigration enforcement officials have confirmed that more than 400 arrests have been made in the Chicago area as part of “Midway Blitz,” a large-scale immigration enforcement operation launched on September 8. The announcement came Friday from Marcos Charles, acting head of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, who called the number a “solid result” in the early stages of what he described as an open-ended campaign.
The initiative, which follows similar operations in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., has intensified concerns among immigrant communities and local leaders who fear aggressive enforcement tactics and mass deportations. The Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies are assisting in the operation, which aims to locate and remove individuals with criminal records, final removal orders, or other violations that placed them on ICE’s radar.
Charles confirmed that between 50% and 60% of those arrested were targeted individuals, while the rest were “collateral arrests” — individuals encountered during operations who were found to be in the country without legal status. Collateral arrests, restricted under the previous administration, have been reinstated under President Donald Trump’s expanded immigration enforcement policies.
Critics argue that the operation is putting communities at risk and eroding trust in law enforcement. Local activists have cited the brief detention of two U.S. citizens and the recent fatal shooting of a man by an ICE officer during a traffic stop as evidence of what they call excessive force.
Despite opposition from Chicago officials and residents, ICE has vowed to continue the campaign, with Charles stating, “We’re going to be conducting this operation until we feel that we’ve been successful. There’s not an end date in sight.”
Supporters of the crackdown say the federal government is finally taking decisive action to remove individuals who pose a public safety risk, fulfilling a key promise of the Trump administration’s immigration agenda.