Today, the state of Illinois and the City of Chicago filed a joint lawsuit against the Trump administration over its “unlawful and dangerous tactics” used by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Enforcement (ICE) agents during its so-called “Operation Midway Blitz.”
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed the federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois — Eastern Division. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, CBP Chief Gregory Bovino, along with other DHS officials, are named as defendants in the lawsuit, while Illinois and Chicago are named as plaintiffs.
“Border Patrol agents and ICE officers have acted as occupiers rather than officers of the law,” Raoul said in a press statement. “They randomly, and often violently, question residents. Without warrants or probable cause, they brutally detain citizens and non-citizens alike. They use tear gas and other chemical weapons against bystanders, injuring dozens, including children, the elderly and local police officers. I filed this lawsuit to stand up for the safety of the people of Illinois and the sovereignty of our state.”
The joint filing describes the “illegal actions” of the federal agents under the Trump administration, who interrogated residents over their immigration status, made civil arrests without a warrant and without probable cause, deployed tear gas and other noxious chemicals without warning against protestors and other residents.
“The Trump administration has unleashed an organized bombardment on the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago, causing turmoil and imposing a climate of fear,” according to the lawsuit. “Though Defendants describe this assault as ‘immigration enforcement,” the reality is that uniformed, military-trained personnel, carrying semi-automatic firearms and military-grade weaponry, have rampaged for months through Chicago and surrounding areas, lawlessly stopping, interrogating, and arresting residents, and attacking them with chemical weapons.”
Since they were deployed to Chicago in September 2025, federal agents shot and killed Silverio Villegas González. Federal agents were captured on video “choking” a Black man following a car crash on the West Side, conducted raids at a majority-Black apartment complex in South Shore and a homeless shelter in Bronzeville. Federal agents also deployed teargas dozens of times citywide.
Previously, DHS said it arrested more than 1,000 people since it started “Operation Midway Blitz” last September. The TRiiBE hasn’t verified those numbers; with the magnitude and sporadic tactics of detainments, it is challenging to track the number of people who have been taken and where exactly they have been taken to.
“We have watched in horror as unchecked federal agents have aggressively assaulted and terrorized our communities and neighborhoods in Illinois, undermining Constitutional rights and threatening public safety,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a press release. “In the face of the Trump Administration’s cruelty and intimidation, Illinois is standing up against the attacks on our people. Today, Illinois is once again taking Donald Trump to court to hold his administration accountable for their unlawful tactics, unnecessary escalations, and flagrant abuses of power.
The federal lawsuit challenges DHS’s immigration enforcement actions at or near sensitive locations, such as schools and shelters, and trespassing on private and government-owned property. Additionally, the federal government’s actions violate the Tenth Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act.
“The Trump administration has repeatedly violated the law and undermined public trust,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a written statement. “These actions weren’t just unlawful; they were cruel, needlessly inflicting fear and harm on our communities. My administration will forcefully protect our residents’ rights and hold anyone accountable who abuses their power. Nobody is above the law. This lawsuit is about ensuring there is accountability for the lawless actions of the Trump administration and justice for the Chicagoans who have been wronged.”
The plaintiffs also argue that the tactics employed by the federal agents were implemented to compel the state and city to reverse their sanctuary policies for immigrants. They are asking the court to order federal agents who carry out enforcement actions in Illinois to stop “using tactics that exceed their statutory authority granted by Congress,” including deploying tear gas and other chemicals without warning against people who aren’t resisting, and scanning biometric information for Illinois residents and entering private property without a warrant or the permission of the owner.
Raoul is also requesting a prohibition on enforcement activities in or near courthouses, schools, hospitals and other sensitive locations. Additionally, Raoul is asking that the court require all CBP and ICE vehicles have visible, accurate license plates.
The lawsuit filing can be found here.
