U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it arrested several noncitizens accused of violent crimes in Chicago this week as part of a federal enforcement effort dubbed "Operation Midway Blitz." DHS officials said the operation honors Katie Abraham, who was killed in a drunk-driving hit-and-run that authorities say was caused by a noncitizen in Illinois.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the recent arrests included "pedophiles, rapists, abusers, armed robbers, and other violent thugs," and accused local leaders of protecting such suspects through sanctuary policies. "These are the criminal illegal aliens Governor Pritzker, Mayor Johnson, and their fellow sanctuary politicians protect over the law-abiding American citizens," she said.
ICE released mugshots and a list of people it said were taken into custody during the surge of enforcement in coordination with federal partners across the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice. The agency described the roundup as part of a continued law enforcement and public safety mission and said it would surge ICE resources in the city.
Among those ICE identified were Varinderpal Singh, 24, an individual from India who the department said was convicted of a strong-arm rape; Pascual Lucas-Baltazar, 23, from Guatemala, whom ICE said had a DUI conviction and pending hit-and-run charges; Marcelino Ramos Crus, from Mexico, arrested on allegations including DUI, resisting an officer and vehicular burglary; and Juan Armenta, from Mexico, arrested on armed robbery and DUI allegations.
ICE also identified Hector Palomar-Flores as a defendant in domestic battery, assault and DUI cases; Jose Luis Amador-Bonilla, 39, from Guatemala, as having a prior forgery conviction and pending domestic-violence charges; Ignacio Santiago-Garcia, 37, from Mexico, on alleged DUI and possession of stolen property; and Francisco Tziquin-Balux, 30, from Guatemala, with pending hit-and-run charges.
The agency named Carlos Roman-Berrera as arrested on an aggravated sexual-assault charge involving a child family member and noted a prior DUI conviction; Brandon Riquelmer Gonzalez-Salazar, 19, of Guatemala, was listed with a pending firearms charge; Bolotbek Dzhenutbaev of Kyrgyzstan faced prior domestic-battery allegations; and Bernardino Perez-Arrevillaga, described by ICE as a registered sex offender from Mexico, was identified with prior arrests and a conviction for aggravated sexual assault of a victim ages 13–17 and a sex-offender registration violation.
ICE said the operation was conducted in the sanctuary city of Chicago and reiterated criticism of sanctuary policies, asserting that such jurisdictions allow people in the country illegally to "roam free and terrorize innocent Americans without consequence." The agency quoted a broader message it said was being delivered by President Trump and other administration officials: "If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will hunt you down, arrest you, deport you, and you will never return." The quote was attributed in ICE materials to DHS leadership comments released alongside the arrests.
Local officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Chicago has been at the center of a national debate over so-called sanctuary policies and federal immigration enforcement, with city and state leaders often rejecting cooperation with some federal immigration detainers and enforcement priorities that they say undermine trust with immigrant communities.
ICE said the arrests were part of a broader surge of resources to the city and that the agency would continue its law enforcement mission in coordination with DHS and the Justice Department. The agency provided the mugshots it released to media and described those it detained as among "the worst of the worst offenders." The agency did not provide a total arrest figure in the materials released with the mugshots.
The matter is now subject to local and federal legal processes. Some of the individuals ICE identified were described as having previous convictions, while others faced pending charges in state courts. Immigration custody, removal proceedings and any additional criminal prosecutions will proceed through the appropriate federal and state systems, ICE said.