The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is denying that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will soon leave the city of Chicago, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. This comes after several sources told Chicago Tribune reporters Monday that “Operation Midway Blitz” is ending quickly.
Operation Midway Blitz is an ICE initiative launched in early September in the Chicago area, aimed at arresting unauthorized immigrants with criminal records. The enforcement operation drew protests, numerous arrests and legal challenges from the governor and journalists.
McLaughlin said the operation helped make the city safer, claiming its crime has dropped significantly. In Chicago, homicides have decreased by 16%, shootings are down by 35%, robberies have decreased 41%, carjackings by 48% and transit crime is down 20%, McLaughlin posted to X.
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Rising tensions and controversial photo
Tensions between Chicago officials and the federal government rose again after a photo spread online showing Border Patrol agents posing in front of Chicago’s famous Cloud Gate, or “The Bean,” sculpture Monday, Block Club Chicago reported.
While taking the photo, some federal agents reportedly shouted, “Little Village,” which is the name of a southside Chicago neighborhood, instead of “cheese.” Chicago officials accused the agents of mocking a protest-hit neighborhood because Little Village was the site of recent clashes between agents and protesters.
DHS said over the weekend that Border Patrol agents were attacked in Little Village while carrying out immigration enforcement in the neighborhood. On Saturday, a crowd surrounded and trapped agents in an alley while they were arresting someone. During the confrontation, a man in a black Jeep Wrangler fired several gunshots at the agents, then drove away.
People on a nearby roof threw bricks and paint cans, damaging government vehicles. The Chicago Police Department helped federal agents escape the area as more objects were thrown. No agents were injured.
Official responses and ongoing dispute
Gov. JB Pritzker responded, calling the photo “disgusting” and accusing the federal agents of trying to create publicity stunts.
“[U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commander] Greg Bovino and his masked agents are not here to make Chicago safer,” Pritzker wrote on X. “As children are tear gassed and U.S. citizens detained, they are posing for photo ops and producing reality TV moments.”
Greg Bovino, who’s currently overseeing immigration enforcement operations in Chicago, responded to Pritzker directly on X, accusing him of lying and failing to address gang crime.
“Now Governor, there you go again lying. We uphold communities by ridding them of criminals such as Latin Kings that you’ve allowed to fester with no action for years,” Bovino wrote. “We are zeroing in on a CORRUPT system and changing it.”
McLaughlin also wrote on X, “We aren’t leaving Chicago.”
