The Department of Homeland Security said that “Operation Midway Blitz” has resulted in almost 550 arrests in Chicago area, with the ICE operation ongoing with no “end date in sight.”
Marcos Charles, the Acting Executive Associate Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said on Friday that almost 550 arrests had been made as of Thursday.
Charles said 50-60% of the arrests were targeted arrests in which ICE had been searching for that specific person.
The other arrests were collateral arrests where ICE came upon the people during their operations but were not specifically searching for them already.
“We’re going to be conducting this operation until we feel that we’ve been successful,” Charles said, adding, “There’s not an end date in sight.”
Operation Midway Blitz was announced early last week in honor of Katie Abraham, who was killed in a drunk driving hit-and-run crash caused by a Guatemalan national who was in Illinois illegally.
Hundreds of ICE agents are operating out of Naval Station Great Lakes in Lake County for the operation.
On Tuesday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem joined a targeted operation in Elgin to serve a felony arrest warrant for a criminal immigrant as part of the operation.
The Elgin operation resulted in the arrest of five illegal immigrants, including a man convicted of driving under the influence with a child passenger, an individual convicted of assault and an individual arrested for domestic violence, harassment, obstruction and felony stalking.
“President Trump has been clear: if politicians will not put the safety of their citizens first, this administration will,” Noem said.
“Just this morning, DHS took violent offenders off the streets with arrests for assault, DUI, and felony stalking. Our work is only beginning,” she said.
DHS said that over 100 rioters surrounded the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Broadview Processing Center on Friday.
DHS said rioters assaulted law enforcement, threw tear gas canisters, slashed the tires of cars, blocked the entrance of the building and trespassed on private property.
“Police under JB Pritzker’s sanctuary jurisdiction refused to answer multiple calls for assistance. So far, federal law enforcement arrested three rioters. Throughout the morning, vans have shown up to pick up and drop off rioters,” DHS said. “This is an organized effort to obstruct ICE law enforcement.”
“Disturbingly, in recent days, two ICE officers’ have had cars used as weapons against them. These riots outside the ICE Broadview Processing Center and attacks on ICE officers come after Democrat politicians, including Governor Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson, have villainized and demonized ICE law enforcement,” DHS said.