DHS: Operation Midway Blitz Yields 1,000+ Arrests in Illinois; Chicago Episodes Include Vehicle Ramming, Agents Shot, and One Fatality
DHS’s Operation Midway Blitz has led to more than 1,000 arrests across Illinois, which the department says target members of the Tren de Aragua and other violent or terror‑screened suspects. In Chicago, multi‑agency raids — including a South Shore operation in which agents rappelled from a Black Hawk and arrested 37 people amid allegations zip ties were used on children and U.S. citizens — produced violent confrontations such as a vehicle ramming that prompted agents to fire and hospitalize a driver and a separate ICE shooting that killed Silverio Villegas‑Gonzalez; Gov. J.B. Pritzker has ordered state investigations while DHS and Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino have defended the deployments.
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📌 Key Facts
- DHS’s Operation Midway Blitz in Illinois — focused heavily on Chicago — has led to more than 1,000 arrests since the campaign began last month.
- DHS says the raids target ties to the Tren de Aragua gang and people listed in the terrorist‑screening database; the department and Secretary Kristi Noem released and posted edited video clips and publicly praised agents for carrying out arrests “despite violent resistance.”
- In a South Shore operation, agents rappelled from a Black Hawk helicopter, surrounded a five‑story apartment building and arrested 37 people; observers and advocates allege zip ties were used on children and some U.S. citizens during door‑to‑door searches.
- Violent episodes reported during the crackdown include a Brighton Park incident where a vehicle allegedly rammed a federal car and agents opened fire, hospitalizing the driver, and a Franklin Park event in which ICE agents shot and killed Silverio Villegas‑Gonzalez after authorities say he tried to flee and dragged an officer.
- Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino has been the visible tactical commander of high‑profile enforcement in Chicago — asserting expansive authority to operate inland, directing on‑scene tactics (including use of tear gas), patrolling the Chicago River, and publicly defending the operations.
- Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker condemned the deployments, called the tactics “making it a war zone,” ordered state investigations into the treatment of children and detainees, and said his legal team (including Attorney General Kwame Raoul) prepared federal lawsuits; DHS rejected Pritzker’s characterization as an “unconstitutional invasion” and denied the agency targets racial minorities.
- DHS/public reporting cited named individuals arrested in the operations (including Wilmer Alexander Gonzalez Garaban; Ricardo Gervasio‑Gervasio; Jorge Mario Ramirez‑Lopez), and outlets also reported an arrest of a suspected Latin Kings member accused of placing a bounty on Chief Bovino.
- Tensions with Congress increased after Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth said they were denied access to ICE’s Broadview, Illinois facility; Duckworth called the denial “appalling,” and Durbin said it suggested “something is going on in there they don’t want us to see.”
📚 Contextual Background
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executes search warrants at residences and family homes as part of criminal investigations.
- Department of Defense contingency guidance listed priority missions during a shutdown in the following order: operations to secure the U.S. Southern Border; Middle East operations; the U.S. missile defense project Golden Dome for America; depot maintenance; shipbuilding; and critical munitions.
- Video footage captured an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer pushing a visibly upset Ecuadoran woman to the ground outside an immigration court at the 26 Federal Plaza building in Manhattan.
- The Department of Homeland Security released a statement saying the officer was being relieved of current duties while a full investigation was conducted and denouncing the officer's conduct as unacceptable.
- New York City has sanctuary city status.
- New York Representative Dan Goldman and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the ICE officer and consider potential prosecution related to the incident.
- A crime statistician testified that rates of murder and violent crime were falling nationwide and in Charlotte after increases early in the 2020s (as of 2025-09-29).
📰 Sources (6)
Meet the Border Patrol Chief Leading Trump’s Chicago Crackdown
New information:
- Identifies CBP/Border Patrol official Greg Bovino as the tactical commander leading high‑profile enforcement in Los Angeles and now Chicago.
- Reports Bovino’s rationale and authority claims for operating in Chicago (expansive ‘border’ definition via waterways and nationwide enforcement authority).
- Details Bovino’s visible leadership: patrolling the Chicago River on a Border Patrol boat; issuing on‑scene protest warnings at Broadview; directing agents who used tear gas and other crowd‑control tools.
- Attributes the South Side operation (dozens zip‑tied, 37 arrests, some U.S. citizens detained) to a multiagency force under Bovino’s command.
- Includes Bovino quotes asserting intelligence on international gangs and illegal firearms drove the Chicago focus.
What to know about National Guard deployments in Memphis and other cities
New information:
- Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth said they were denied access to ICE’s Broadview, Illinois facility on Friday and argued they have congressional oversight authority.
- Duckworth called the denial 'appalling' and Durbin suggested 'something is going on in there they don’t want us to see.'
Border Patrol chief fires back after Pritzker calls federal operations 'unconstitutional invasion'
New information:
- Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino publicly rebuked Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Fox & Friends First, calling Pritzker ineffective and using a pointed personal line ('I doubt the governor could fill custard in a pie factory...').
- DHS issued a press release explicitly rejecting Pritzker’s characterization of the deployments as an 'unconstitutional invasion' and rebuked claims the agency targets racial minorities.
- Pritzker thanked Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and said his legal team had prepared federal lawsuits in anticipation of the administration's deployments (a concrete legal escalation).
- Fox reports DHS/Border Patrol say Operation Midway Blitz has led to apprehensions of Tren de Aragua members and people listed in the terrorist‑screening database; the article also notes a recent arrest of a suspected Latin Kings member accused of placing a bounty on Chief Bovino.
DHS arrests Chicago’s ‘worst of the worst’ amid surge in domestic terror attacks
New information:
- Names of multiple individuals cited by DHS as arrested (Wilmer Alexander Gonzalez Garaban; Ricardo Gervasio‑Gervasio; Jorge Mario Ramirez‑Lopez) identified in the DHS statement.
- Specific violent incidents in Chicago: agents reportedly surrounded in Brighton Park, one vehicle rammed a federal car and agents opened fire, striking a driver who was hospitalized.
- A separate Franklin Park incident in which ICE agents shot and killed Silverio Villegas‑Gonzalez after authorities say he attempted to flee and dragged an officer.
- Direct quote from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem praising agents and describing the arrests as proceeding 'despite violent resistance.'
Immigration agents become increasingly aggressive in Chicago
New information:
- Specific operation in South Shore described: agents used a Black Hawk helicopter to rappel, surrounded a five‑story apartment building and arrested 37 people.
- Allegations that zip ties were used on children and U.S. citizens during door‑to‑door searches in that operation.
- An updated arrest tally in the citywide crackdown: 'more than 1,000 immigrants have been arrested' since the campaign began last month.
- Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker publicly ordered state agencies to investigate the treatment of children and detainees and explicitly called the tactics 'making it a war zone.'
- DHS publicly framed the raids as targeting ties to the Tren de Aragua gang; DHS Secretary Kristi Noem posted edited video clips of the operation to X.