The TRiiBE is working in collaboration with indie investigative newsroom Unraveled Press and alt-weekly Chicago Reader to bring you confirmed sightings of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agents in the Chicago area.
A large federal immigration enforcement operation left a trail of destruction in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood overnight Tuesday.
Activists and community leaders say at least 40 people were taken into federal custody during the raid, which took place shortly after 1:00 a.m. Tuesday. Videos shared to social media and the Citizen neighborhood watch app show swarms of federal agents at 75th and South Shore during the operation. Neighbors saw platoons of militarized agents transported in moving trucks, and video shows CTA buses being rerouted in response.
The raid took place in the South Side neighborhood of South Shore, a predominantly-Black community that saw an influx of asylum seekers from Latin America who were bused to sanctuary cities like Chicago by the Republican governors of Texas and other bordering states. Between August 2022 and December 2024, over 51,000 migrants arrived in Chicago, according to the city’s New Arrivals Dashboard. In April, a TRiiBE investigation revealed housing stock and affordability as the underlying reasons why migrants landed in Black Chicago communities of South Shore, Englewood and North Lawndale.
On Tuesday, photos of ransacked apartments show doors kicked in and belongings tossed around in the aftermath of the raid. Initial reports of gunfire at the location turned out to be flash grenades launched by federal agents. Videos shared to social media show a significant number of FBI agents among the mix.
Advocates are still working to confirm the true number of people now gone from the apartments. The timing of the raid and the tremendous number of federal police present made it difficult for volunteers to respond appropriately. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not provided a statement on the operation or detailed the number of people detained.
“We’re not being given any information directly,” Veronica Castro of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights said at a press conference outside the South Shore apartment building.
“[This] looked like hundreds of masked agents knocking down doors and dragging families out in the middle of the night…holding babies that were unclothed,” Castro added.
A couple who live nearby and only provided first names told reporters they were shocked to see the enormous militarized raid in their community.
“I think all that money could be better spent,” said Mike.
They also expressed concern about President Donald Trump pivoting to target Black people or other communities of color. The apartment building is adjacent to Excel Academy of South Shore and Powell Elementary School.
“You know, we’re used to the parade of kids going by our home on their way to school. This morning, we saw a small fraction of that,” said Mike.
While the community has seen occasional ICE arrests, the South Shore neighborhood has not been a daily hotbed of activity in recent weeks—nor since Border Patrol’s arrival last week. Castro noted the community largely welcomed people to the neighborhood when Texas Governor Greg Abbott began purchasing bus tickets to Chicago for newly- arrived migrants in 2022.
“There’s things we can’t do. We’re facing the full force of the federal government,” said Illinois Sen. Robert Peters (D-13th) after Tuesday’s press conference. He said this in response to questions about what the state government can do to address the immigration raids.
Referring to Trump, Peters added, “He’s doing blackhawk helicopters and people in masks. I want to temper people’s expectations.”
On Monday, Gov. JB Pritzker announced DHS is now also seeking the addition of 100 National Guard troops to protect ICE operations in Chicagoland.
“This morning’s raid in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago represents a further escalation of ICE and CBP’s operation in Illinois, and a further militarization of Black neighborhoods in Chicago,” said ICIRR spokesperson Brandon Lee in a prepared statement. “This is part of a prolonged attack on Chicago communities by Trump and other MAGA leaders to sow discord and divide communities.”
