U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched "Operation Midway Blitz" in Chicago this week, making multiple arrests of noncitizens with criminal records, federal officials said. Fox News joined ICE agents on an exclusive ride-along in which agents used force to remove a resisting subject from a vehicle and took into custody a man previously convicted of sexually assaulting a child.
ICE agents arrested a Mexican national on a federal criminal arrest warrant for multiple felony reentries into the United States after being deported twice and returning a third time, officials said. Video provided to Fox News shows agents approaching the man outside his home, the subject attempting to get into a car and agents breaking a window to extract and restrain him. The man is expected to face federal criminal prosecution and potential jail time before any removal proceedings, according to ICE.
Also this week, federal officials arrested a 43-year-old Mexican national who was convicted last year of forcibly sexually assaulting a child under the age of 13; he remains in custody, ICE said. The operation has involved other federal partners, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service.
ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan told Fox News the agency will "continue going after the worst of the worst," saying those individuals "have wreaked havoc on the American people for years and that time is over." Sheahan also said ICE would continue operations despite pushback from Democratic leadership.
The Department of Homeland Security said the operation was being conducted in honor of Katie Abraham, a 20-year-old Illinois resident who was killed in January in a drunk-driving hit-and-run crash that authorities have said was caused by a noncitizen from Guatemala who is suspected of driving under the influence. Abraham's father, Joe Abraham, told Fox & Friends he hoped Illinois officials, including Gov. J.B. Pritzker, would work with federal authorities to improve public safety, saying, "My daughter was taken, I will never see her again. She got death, I got a life sentence."
Operation Midway Blitz is expected to last several weeks, drawing comparisons to a May operation in Boston termed Operation Patriot, which federal officials said led to more than 1,500 apprehensions of criminal noncitizens. ICE described the Chicago phase as concentrating on individuals with criminal records, including gang members and others the agency deems priorities for enforcement.
Federal prosecutors may pursue criminal charges in some cases, officials said, before any formal removal procedures. ICE and its federal partners did not provide a complete tally of arrests as the operation was still underway. The agency declined to provide specific locations for arrests beyond general descriptions, citing operational security.
The enforcement sweep in Illinois comes amid a national debate over immigration enforcement priorities and sanctuary policies. ICE and Department of Homeland Security officials have in recent months highlighted targeted operations against noncitizens with prior convictions, while some state and local leaders have pushed back against expanded cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Fox News personnel who rode along with the operation reported on-scene details and footage; the network's reporting included agents' descriptions of the arrests and statements from ICE officials. The agency said the operation will continue in coming weeks as federal partners coordinate efforts to locate and detain individuals identified through criminal and immigration records.