DHS: Operation Midway Blitz Yields 1,000+ Arrests in Illinois; Chicago Episodes Include Vehicle Ramming, Agents Shot, and One Fatality
DHS says Operation Midway Blitz, a statewide crackdown framed as targeting ties to the Tren de Aragua gang, has resulted in more than 1,000 arrests in Illinois, including a dramatic Chicago sweep in which agents used a Black Hawk helicopter to rappel onto a South Shore apartment building and arrested 37 people. The campaign featured violent episodes—authorities say a vehicle rammed a federal car and officers fired, wounding a driver, and in Franklin Park ICE shot and killed Silverio Villegas‑Gonzalez after saying he tried to flee and dragged an officer—and prompted Gov. J.B. Pritzker to order investigations amid allegations that children and U.S. citizens were zip‑tied during door‑to‑door searches.
Public Safety
Immigration
Crime
📌 Key Facts
- Operation Midway Blitz, a citywide DHS/ICE campaign in Illinois, has resulted in more than 1,000 immigrants arrested since it began last month.
- In a South Shore operation, agents rappelled from a Black Hawk helicopter, surrounded a five‑story apartment building and arrested 37 people.
- Allegations from the South Shore operation include the use of zip ties on children and on U.S. citizens during door‑to‑door searches.
- Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered state agencies to investigate the treatment of children and detainees and said the tactics were 'making it a war zone.'
- DHS framed the raids as targeting ties to the Tren de Aragua gang; DHS Secretary Kristi Noem posted edited video clips to X and praised agents, saying arrests proceeded 'despite violent resistance.'
- DHS named several individuals as arrested in the operation, including Wilmer Alexander Gonzalez Garaban; Ricardo Gervasio‑Gervasio; and Jorge Mario Ramirez‑Lopez.
- In Chicago, violent episodes included a Brighton Park incident in which a vehicle reportedly rammed a federal car, agents opened fire, and a driver was struck and hospitalized.
- In Franklin Park, ICE agents shot and killed Silverio Villegas‑Gonzalez after authorities say he attempted to flee and dragged an officer.
📚 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 (3)
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.