Federal agents deployed tear gas and fired pepper-spray balls Friday morning to disperse protests outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Broadview, Illinois, amid growing backlash to the Trump administration's "Operation Midway Blitz."
Roughly 100 demonstrators gathered at the gates of the suburban Chicago facility, calling for an end to the crackdown, WGN-TV reported. At about 8:30 a.m. CDT, agents launched gas canisters and fired pepper-spray balls as protesters attempted to block a van from exiting the property, according to the Chicago Tribune. At least one protester was pinned to the ground and taken behind the facility gates, while activists said two others were also detained.
The Department of Homeland Security characterized the demonstration as an "organized effort to obstruct ICE law enforcement," alleging that protesters assaulted officers. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin condemned the clashes, saying: "The violent targeting of law enforcement in Illinois by lawless rioters is despicable and Governor JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson must call for it to end. The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line to protect the people of Illinois and all Americans."
Friday marked the second straight week of escalations outside the Broadview site. Activists staged hourslong demonstrations, and agents cleared the crowd multiple times throughout the morning.
Video captured by WFLD-TV showed Kat Abughazaleh, a Democratic candidate for Illinois' 9th Congressional District, being thrown to the ground by federal agents. Abughazaleh later said she was bruised but not seriously injured. Broadview itself lies in the 7th Congressional District, represented since 1997 by Democrat Rep. Danny Davis, 83.
DHS amplified the confrontation on social media, reposting WFLD's video and writing on X: "Individuals and groups impeding ICE operations are siding with vicious cartels, human traffickers, and violent criminals. You will not stop @ICEgov and DHS law enforcement from enforcing our immigration laws."
Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who joined demonstrators at the facility, told WGN she and Pritzker have been left "in the dark" about the details of "Operation Midway Blitz." Although the operation has been met with criticism from state and local leaders, agents have made dozens of arrests in the weeks since the operation began.
ICE officials said Friday that agents have made more than 550 arrests in the Chicago area since launching the operation less than two weeks ago.
Marcos Charles, the acting head of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations, said that as of Thursday roughly, 50% to 60% of the Chicago operation arrests were targeted, meaning they were specific people that ICE was trying to find because they had committed a crime, had a final order of removal or had done something that put them on ICE's radar.
The rest were what's often referred to as "collateral arrests," meaning people that ICE comes across during their operations who aren't the person they're looking for but are in the country illegally. Collateral arrests were not allowed during the Biden administration but the Trump administration decided otherwise in its mass deportation efforts.
"It doesn't mean that the collateral arrests are non-criminal," Charles said. "Some of our collateral arrests ... also have criminal convictions and arrests. They just weren't the people we were looking for at the time."
Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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