A Federal Judge Exposes ICE’s Brutality in Chicago

Contributed by Laura Sager

On the Federal Court ruling against ICE (in Chicago): “U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis delivered a searing rebuke of federal immigration enforcement tactics in Chicago, issuing a preliminary injunction against what she called violence that "shocks the conscience." In an extraordinary eight-hour hearing, Ellis systematically dismantled the government's justifications for tear-gassing protesters, journalists, and clergy, declaring the Trump Administration's defense "simply not credible." Judge Ellis singled out Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino for particular criticism, stating that he "admitted that he lied" about being struck by a rock before deploying tear gas on civilians. 

"I find the defendants' evidence simply not credible," Ellis said. "Overall, this calls into question everything the defendants are doing." The judge's preliminary injunction prohibits officers involved in Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago from using tear gas and pepper spray on those who do not pose a threat, requires all officers to wear body cameras, and remains in effect as the legal challenge proceeds -- with Ellis declining to stay her ruling pending appeal.

The judge's condemnation came after mounting evidence revealed a pattern of brutality that targeted anyone who dared to observe, document, or protest federal enforcement actions. The government's own data, released this week, exposed the hollowness of administration claims about targeting dangerous criminals: of 607 people detained during Operation Midway Blitz in the Chicago area between June and October whose arrests potentially violated court orders, only 16 -- a mere 2.6% -- had criminal histories the government deemed made them "high public safety risks." Yet DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin called the judge's order to release these individuals an action that "puts the lives of Americans directly at risk," claiming it would release dangerous criminals -- a brazenly false claim contradicted by the government's own records showing the vast majority had no criminal background whatsoever.

This data demolishes the Department of Homeland Security's repeated claims that Operation Midway Blitz targets "the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens" in Chicago. DHS has consistently touted arrests of "pedophiles, drug traffickers, burglars, and other violent criminals," yet the reality on the ground tells a starkly different story. ICE agents have spent much of their time driving through city and suburban neighborhoods in unmarked vehicles looking for roofers, gardeners, and street vendors to arrest, apparently targeting individuals based on their appearance and language. Such racial profiling was effectively greenlit by a September Supreme Court ruling that lifted restrictions on ICE stops based on race, language, or occupation. 

This damning disconnect between administration propaganda and ground-level reality -- federal agents rounding up roofers instead of rapists, gardeners instead of gang members -- reveals what Operation Midway Blitz is actually designed to accomplish. The real motivation appears to be inflating arrest and deportation numbers to satisfy quotas imposed by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who has demanded ICE make 3,000 arrests per day -- triple the rate agents were making in early 2025. 

Eric Balliet, a retired special agent with Homeland Security Investigations who worked for the department for 25 years, explained why ICE avoids pursuing actual dangerous criminals: "To go after violent criminals, that's a lot of work. That's a lot of effort. That's a lot of time, and candidly, from the people I've talked to, the department and the agency doesn't want to expense that time, that strategic and operational planning to actually get the worst of the worst." 

Miller has reportedly threatened to fire ICE field office leaders who rank in the bottom 10% for arrests, creating intense pressure to meet quotas regardless of whether those arrested pose any threat. This quota-driven approach aims to give the Trump administration justification for the extraordinary taxpayer expense of ICE operations: Congress has allocated approximately $150 billion over four years for immigration enforcement through the "One Big Beautiful Bill" -- making ICE's budget larger than any other federal law enforcement agency and bigger than the military budgets of most countries. Ultimately, the focus is creating spectacle and generating arrest statistics to serve Trump's fear-mongering political theater, not conducting legitimate law enforcement that targets actual criminals.

As Judge Ellis determined, the actual violence in Chicago came from federal agents, not those they arrested. Rev. David Black of First Presbyterian Church of Chicago was shot seven times with pepper pellets -- twice in the head -- by agents stationed on the roof of the Broadview ICE facility while he stood with arms outstretched in a traditional Christian posture of prayer. Shortly after, as he stood incapacitated from the pellets, agents sprayed him in the face with chemical weapons as pictured at left. 

A family was pepper-sprayed through their car window while leaving a shopping mall parking lot last weekend, leaving their 1-year-old daughter with swollen eyes and struggling to breathe. Children in Halloween costumes scattered from tear gas clouds as agents disrupted their parade in the Old Irving Park neighborhood. A 67-year-old runner had six ribs broken and suffered internal bleeding after agents dragged him from his car and knelt on his back as pictured at right. A fifth-grade teacher running to get lunch had tear gas canisters thrown at her feet outside an elementary school, forcing her to sprint back screaming for staff to get children inside. And these are only a handful of the hundreds of documented cases of violence toward Chicago residents by ICE agents over the past several months. 

Ellis's ruling represents more than a legal victory -- it is a recognition that federal agents have been operating "untethered" to any specific threat, terrorizing communities under the pretext of law enforcement. "I see little reason for the use of force that the federal agents are currently using," the judge stated during her ruling. The injunction requires officers to stop using chemical weapons against non-threatening individuals, mandates body cameras during all enforcement activities, and orders the submission of use-of-force reports -- basic accountability measures that should never have required court intervention. 

The judicial rebukes extended beyond Ellis's courtroom. In a separate ruling, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings found that federal agents had violated a 2022 settlement agreement by conducting warrantless arrests without establishing probable cause or assessing community ties. Cummings ordered the release of 615 people who remain detained without final removal orders or mandatory detention requirements, finding their arrests unlawful. 

Shortly after these cascading legal defeats and facing multiple judicial sanctions this week, Operation Midway Blitz commander Gregory Bovino left Chicago to replicate his brutal tactics in Charlotte, North Carolina where officials and residents expressed alarm about his arrival. On day one of their operation in Charlotte yesterday, federal agents are already terrorizing residents including one Hispanic U.S. citizen, Willy Aceituno, who was questioned by two different groups of ICE agents in a single day. When the second group of agents approached his truck, he told them he had papers; yet rather than allowing him to show his documentation, they immediately broke his window, dragged him out of his vehicle, handcuffed him, and detained him for 20 minutes until they confirmed he was a U.S. citizen and let him go. 

Every American should be appalled by such conduct. Breaking a U.S. citizen's car window, dragging him from his vehicle, and detaining him in handcuffs solely based on his ethnicity is the behavior of secret police in authoritarian states, not the actions of legitimate American law enforcement.

The responsibility to resist such abuses extends far beyond the courtroom. Throughout history, the defense of civil liberties has required individuals and institutions to stand firm against overreach, even when cloaked in the language of law and order. As Martin Luther King Jr. wrote from a Birmingham jail, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny." 

The scenes in Chicago -- of masked agents terrorizing neighborhoods, of children fleeing chemical weapons on streets lined with Halloween decorations, of clergy being shot while praying -- demand that citizens, lawyers, judges, and elected officials fulfill their duty to protect constitutional rights against those who would trample them. Edmund Burke's warning echoes across the centuries: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." 

Judge Ellis has done her part. Now the question remains whether others in positions of authority -- in Congress, in federal agencies, in police departments, in communities across the country -- will stand up with equal resolve against tactics that, as the judge declared, shock the conscience of anyone committed to the rule of law and human dignity. The urgency grows as ICE's operations now expand to Charlotte, with New Orleans expected to follow before year's end, bringing the same illegal and brutal tactics that traumatized Chicago to new communities. 

You cannot claim ignorance of what is being done in your name -- will you resist or be complicit in your silence? History is watching. 

--> If you're looking for ways to take action and counter ICE overreach, supporting civil rights organizations like the ACLU that challenge their tactics in the courts has emerged as one of the only successful means of constraining ICE's rapidly expanding enforcement powers -- learn more at https://www.aclu.org/issues/immigrants-rights/immigrants-rights-and-detention

To get involved locally against authoritarian overreach and to stand up for democracy, you can connect with an Indivisible group in your area at https://indivisible.org/groups

For books for children and teens about the importance of standing up for truth, decency, and justice, even in dark times, visit our blog post, "Dissent Is Patriotic: 50 Books About Women Who Fought for Change," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=14364

For books for tweens and teens about girls living under real-life authoritarian regimes throughout history that will help them appreciate how precious democracy truly is, visit our blog post "The Fragility of Freedom: Mighty Girl Books About Life Under Authoritarianism" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=32426

For children's books that encourage empathy and understanding of Mighty Girl immigrants of the past and present, visit our blog post, "A New Land, A New Life: 25 Mighty Girl Books About the Immigrant Experience" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=12855

To stay connected with A Mighty Girl, you can sign-up for A Mighty Girl's free email newsletter at https://www.amightygirl.com/forms/newsletter

----- Laura Sager 

To read more about Judge Ellis' ruling on ICE's "shocking" violence in Chicago, visit https://wapo.st/4oHgjki

To read about ICE's new operation in Charlotte, visit https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/us/us-border-patrol-charlotte-nc-immigration.html 

To read more about ICE agents' violent tactics in Chicago, visit https://news.wttw.com/2025/11/12/just-violence-confusion-federal-immigration-raids-also-bring-fear-suburban-streets