Hundreds of federal agents sweep Chicago for Tren de Aragua suspects
Nearly 300 federal agents conducted a targeted immigration enforcement operation early Sept. 30, 2025, in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood aimed at suspected members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. The FBI assisted U.S. Border Patrol in the raid on an apartment building; footage showed a helicopter inserting snipers onto the roof, and about two dozen people were taken into custody. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker publicly criticized federal tactics as the operation occurred amid broader ICE 'Operation Midway Blitz' activity and a DHS memo seeking deployment of additional troops to Illinois.
Crime
Immigration
Public Safety
🔍 Key Facts
- Almost 300 federal agents participated in the operation on Sept. 30, 2025.
- The sweep targeted six individuals alleged to be associated with the Tren de Aragua gang; Fox News reports roughly two dozen people were detained.
- Location: apartment building in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago; a helicopter was used to deploy snipers to the roof. Federal agencies involved include the FBI and U.S. Border Patrol; ICE/CBP's Operation Midway Blitz is cited as context.
📍 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).