Military style raid of federal agents in Chicago triggers lawsuits for abuse
Families report abuse, armed arrests and psychological terror during operation
Eighteen Chicago residents filed administrative lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies, including the Control Service l of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), after reporting abuses and violence during an immigration raid carried out in September 2025 as part of the call “Operation Midway Blitz”.
The legal actions were prompted by civil rights organizations such as MALDEF, the Immigrant Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago, the MacArthur Justice Center and the National Immigrant Justice Center.
The complainants claim that federal agents violently broke into a housing complex in the South Shore neighborhood, in Chicago, using “militarized” tactics and without showing judicial orders.
According to complaints filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), more than 300 agents participated in the operation, supported by a Black Hawk helicopter, unmarked vans, and drones that recorded the deployment.
Families claim they were gunned and humiliated
The testimonies describe scenes of panic that occurred after midnight on 30 September 2025. Adults and minors were taken from their apartments at rifles' point, some still in pyjamas and barefoot.
The organizations claim that several people were beaten, handcuffed with plastic ties and held without explanation.
“Unarmed people were sleeping in their homes when they were received with a level of force and cruelty unthinkable outside a “battlefield,” declared Samuel White, an attorney at the Immigrant Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago.
The complainants also maintain that the operation was recorded by an audiovisual team hired by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to subsequently disseminate images on official social media as propaganda material.
Criticism against ICE raids grows
The case puts under scrutiny the tactics of ICE during the Donald Trump administration, particularly due to the massive operations carried out in cities with high immigrant population.
“This operation was a nightmare come true,” said Jonathan Manes, of the MacArthur Justice Center. “No government should turn constitutional violations into propaganda.”
The detained residents were transferred to the Broadview immigration center, where they also reported inhumane confinement conditions.
Organizations seek financial compensation and hold the federal government responsible for physical, emotional, and material damages.