The Block Club Chicago Podcast Chicago Under Siege -- How Operation Midway Blitz Changed Our City
Midway Blitz’s aim was to “target” undocumented immigrants with serious criminal histories — “the worst of the worst,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said when announcing the initiative in early September.
Yet, neighbors saw immigration agents detain day laborers, construction and landscaping workers and street vendors, mothers and fathers, many of whom had no criminal history.
Federal agents often used violent and unlawful tactics during the operations, advocates and lawyers said. And they’ve “displayed a massive show of force,” said Mark Fleming, director of litigation for the National Immigrant Justice Center. Block Club Chicago was part of a team that found federal agents used chemical weapons on people in Chicago at least 49 times this fall.
Chicagoans had been preparing for a surge in immigration enforcement since President Donald Trump was reelected. The city has long been a target of Trump’s criticism, and his border czar, Tom Homan, promised that mass deportations would “start right here in Chicago.” Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested nearly 400 people in Chicago and in neighboring states during the 10 days after Trump’s January inauguration, according to records obtained by Block Club.
Still, Midway Blitz and At Large — and the chaotic, seemingly random arrests and violence that came with them — have exceeded Chicagoans’ expectations.
Host - Jon Hansen
Reporter - Francia Garcia Hernandez
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