Border Patrol, ICE sued over escalating tactics in Chicago crackdown

Federal immigration officers deploying chemicals against Chicago protesters are using tactics that experts say breach professional norms and push the limits of legal force standards.

State of play: Border Patrol and ICE officers conducting “Operation Midway Blitz” since early September have deployed chemical irritants, pepper balls and tear gas at demonstrators. Protesters, journalists and religious leaders have since sued these agents, alleging violations of their First and Fourth Amendment rights. In response, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis issued a court order Oct. 9 barring such deployments against those who do not pose a safety threat.

Despite the order, the use of force has reportedly continued. Most recently, a video captured Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino tossing a tear-gas canister into a crowd. While DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin maintains the tactics are necessary to protect officers who face violent demonstrators, plaintiffs argue that the government is “perpetrating extreme violence against peaceful and innocent American civilians.”

The big picture: Chicago residents have organized a coordinated effort in response to the crackdown. Some use Facebook groups with up to 50,000 members to track agent locations and follow enforcement vehicles with car horns and bicycle whistles. Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a vocal opponent of the Trump administration’s actions in the city, has called for independent DOJ and DHS investigations into the “outrageous use of force.” She cites a troubling pattern of wrongful detention of at least 170 U.S. citizens, including combat veterans held for days, officers tackling people recording raids and agents zip-tying children before separating them from parents.

The crackdown has also affected community life, with Halloween festivities over the weekend muted after Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker’s appeal to suspend operations was denounced as “shameful” by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Since beginning Sept. 6, “Midway Blitz” has resulted in over 2,800 apprehensions, while nationwide ICE holds nearly 60,000 detainees, most of whom do not have criminal records.

What this means: Asian American communities face heightened risk as enforcement practices in Chicago could extend to other cities and urban centers. Beyond immigration status, constitutional protections erode when citizens face detention simply for recording officers or joining protests, a threat to all communities of color. The deployment of military-grade crowd control tactics in diverse neighborhoods also sets a concerning precedent that could normalize aggressive enforcement in communities where language barriers and fear of authorities already limit residents’ willingness to assert their rights.

Former ICE Director John Sandweg told the Washington Post that Border Patrol methods “appropriate” for remote desert operations against drug cartels are not suitable “when you bring them up to civil immigration enforcement in a city like Chicago,” noting agents’ limited training for urban demonstrations.