Operation Midway Blitz was a highly publicized immigration enforcement campaign launched by ICE and other federal agencies in the Chicago area. It began in September 6-9, 2025, deploying hundreds of ICE agents plus National Guard, ostensibly targeting undocumented immigrants with criminal records.  In retrospect, this campaign was intended as the first of a large number to be waged against blue cities, with an ill-trained and led force, with the primary intent to create a war zone atmosphere which would work to the administration’s benefit. This kind of campaign was effectively ended by Minneapolis.

Henceforth, for DHS to meet its goal of well over 1,000 arrests a day it will have to arrest persons at work or in their homes — which will provoke perhaps a broader negative response from the public and courts.

DHS’ press release said, “This ICE operation will target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they knew Governor Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets.”

DHS sought to invoke shock and awe, in an approach that was later discredited in its Minneapolis campaign. The first full day of the campaign,  a TV station reported “On an anxiety-filled day for the city, there were sporadic reports of arrests in Chicago’s Latino community as hundreds of federal agents move in — and many residents hunker down.”

By mid-November, DHS claimed nearly many arrests across six Midwestern states. This figure was not significantly higher than what might have happened had DHS not undertaken such a publicly provocative campaign. DHS’ figures have been suspect from early in the Trump administration. Out of 1,852 people arrested in the Chicago area before October 7, as many as 1,100 had already been deported or had taken voluntary departure. (Go here.)

Protests grew at the Broadview ICE facility. Federal agents rdeployed tear gas, pepper balls, and flashbang grenades. Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez was fatally shot by ICE. Marimar Martinez was shot five times. Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor J.B. Pritzker actively opposed the operation, with Johnson signing an executive order barring federal use of city property for immigration enforcement.

The operation wound down by mid-November 2025. Border Patrol Commander Bovino and approximately 150 agents departed for Charlotte, North Carolina. The National Guard withdrew from Chicago on December 31, 2025, after being stationed for only one day in October before courts blocked further deployment.

Antecedents to Minneapolis

Arising out of the Chicago campaign were ICE interpretations of the law which gave its personnel wide discretion on whom to arrest.  A “flight risk” was not just the risk of a person upon encounter to flee, but any risk that the person might not show up at a future hearing. In November a federal judge in Chicago ordered the release of 600 persons whom he said had been illegally detained by warrantless arrests. This issue of arrest discretion has yet to be definitively addressed by the courts.   (Go here, here, here and here).

However, DHS credibility was challenged. Judge Sara Ellis called Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino’s testimony “not credible,” accusing him of “outright lying” about incidents.

The single most controversial case was that of Marimor Martinez.  In October 2025, citizen Martinez was shot five times by a CBP agent. DHS claimed she had used her car as a weapon and labeled her a “domestic terrorist,” leading to federal assault and attempted‑murder charges. Later‑released video, diagrams, and texts undermined agents’ accounts, showing that they rammed her car and then opened fire. Prosecutors dismissed all charges with prejudice.  (Go here)