More than 400 arrests made in Chicago space operation thus far: U.S. high immigration official

Immigration enforcement officers have arrested greater than 400 individuals as a part of an operation within the Chicago space that launched rather less than two weeks in the past, a high Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official mentioned Friday (September 19, 2025).

Marcos Charles, the appearing head of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, gave the figures throughout an interview with The Associated Press. The determine, which has not been broadly reported, gives an early gauge of what’s shaping up as a significant enforcement effort that comes after related operations had been launched in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Also learn: Trump vows nationwide emergency in Washington, D.C., over ICE dispute

When requested whether or not he thought that quantity of arrests at this level within the operation was optimistic, Mr. Charles mentioned 400 is a “stable quantity”, including that the determine contains arrests made by different federal companies in addition to ICE who’re helping within the marketing campaign.

“We’re going to be conducting this operation till we really feel that we’ve been profitable,” he mentioned. “There’s not an finish date in sight.”

ICE launched its Chicago space operation dubbed “Midway Blitz” on September 8, drawing concern from activists and immigrant communities who say there’s been a noticeable uptick in immigration enforcement brokers.

That has deepened dread in communities already afraid of the large-scale arrests or aggressive ways utilized in different cities focused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration insurance policies.

The operation has introduced allegations of extreme drive and heavy-handed dragnets which have ensnared U.S. residents whereas gratifying Trump supporters who say he’s delivering on a promise of mass deportations.

The Trump administration has promised to ship an inflow of immigration brokers and National Guard troops to Chicago, over the fierce objections of native leaders and residents. A navy deployment to Chicago has but to materialise at the same time as immigration enforcement operations proceed.

Officials and activists within the Chicago space against the enforcement surge argue the strategy is harmful and imprecise, pointing to accounts of two U.S. residents who had been briefly detained this week by federal officers centered on immigration enforcement. Advocates have additionally protested the demise of a person shot by an ICE officer on September 12 after authorities mentioned he tried to flee throughout a visitors cease, dragging the officer.

Mr. Charles mentioned roughly 50% to 60% of the Chicago operation arrests had been focused arrests, that means they had been particular those that ICE was looking for as a result of they’d dedicated a criminal offense, had a last order of elimination or had carried out one thing that put them on ICE’s radar.

The relaxation had been what’s sometimes called “collateral arrests”, that means those that ICE comes throughout throughout their operations who aren’t the individual they’re on the lookout for however are within the nation illegally, so ICE can arrest them.

Collateral arrests weren’t allowed throughout the Biden administration however the Trump administration threw out these restrictions nearly instantly after coming into workplace as a part of Trump’s efforts to beef up deportations.

“It doesn’t imply that the collateral arrests are non-criminal. Some of our collateral arrests … even have prison convictions and arrests. They simply weren’t the individuals we had been on the lookout for on the time,” mentioned Mr. Charles.

The Department of Homeland Security launched “Midway Blitz” after months of Trump administration criticism of Chicago and Illinois over state and native insurance policies that limit legislation enforcement cooperation with ICE.

ICE says these insurance policies imply that immigrants who’ve dedicated crimes within the U.S. and will be deported in consequence are as an alternative launched into the neighborhood. ICE says it then has to exit into the neighborhood and observe them all the way down to take away them.

Many native officers and activists have mentioned that immigration enforcement is a federal accountability and that in the event that they cooperate with ICE, it makes it much less doubtless that immigrants who’re victims or witnesses to crime will come ahead to work with police.