On Thursday evening, frustrated Chicago residents attended a special meeting in Brighton Park to air their grievances against the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and Supt. Larry Snelling over its conduct during the Trump administration’s so-called “Midway Blitz” operation last fall.
The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA) hosted the special meeting at Kelly High School, and the room was packed with residents, CPD officers, and Police District Councilors. Chicago City Council member Nicole Lee (11th Ward) was also in attendance. There were also staffers from the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) and Ald. Andre Vasquez’s (40th Ward) office at the meeting. Vasquez chairs the Chicago City Council’s committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
Residents cited specific incidents in which they felt CPD collaborated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, which they argue is in direct conflict with Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance.
“The community knows that CPD and ICE are, in fact, collaborating with each other,” said Gianna Escareño, a member of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR). “We have seen it with our own eyes. We have seen it in our communities. We have been on the ground. We’re demanding that you hold them accountable.”
The push for this special meeting with Snelling follows a Jan. 8 public meeting where dozens of residents from across the city shared testimony about encounters with federal agents during the Midway Blitz. Many of them called for CPD and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office to investigate their claims.
Similar to the meeting in January, there was a sense of pain and frustration in the room Thursday as people shared firsthand experiences with federal agents and instances where they accused CPD of working alongside federal agents. They also said the police and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office are failing to investigate federal agents who’ve broken the law.
Throughout the meeting, there were occasional interruptions by people in the room who booed and even yelled “shut the f—- up” as Snelling spoke.
“How disrespectful are we going to allow these people to [say] ‘shut the what up?’ I mean, it tells me that they’re not serious,” Snelling told the crowd. “If we are going to have a serious conversation about this, it can’t be this way, because it tells me no one is willing to listen or to understand what’s happening here. If we truly want to get to the bottom of this, we have to have a serious conversation. If we’re not willing to do that, and all we’re willing to do is yell and scream, we know what you’re here for. So please be respectful.”
The meeting adjourned abruptly after 8:00 p.m., as protestors chanted “CPD, KKK, ICE, they’re all the same,” and held up signs with “End ICE and CPD collaboration.”
Jasmine Smith, a lead organizer with the CAAPR, called the meeting “a smack in the face.”
“Every time I come to these meetings, we have to fight or we gotta put pressure on these bodies that we fought for, it’s like a smack in my face. It irritates the f— outta me. Y’all made accommodations for a body that y’all supposed to be holding accountable. Make it make sense.”
WHAT INCIDENTS WERE RAISED DURING THE MEETING?
During public comment, residents pointed to witness videos and other evidence collected by public bodies such as Illinois’s Accountability Commission, created through an executive order by Gov. JB Pritzker, and former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s ICE Accountability Project to show a pattern and practice of federal agents breaking the law.
“We have all seen video footage of potential crimes Mayor Lightfoot collected on her website,” Illinois Lawyers Against Fascist Overreach member Josie Raimond said. “The Illinois Accountability Commission has gathered evidence and held hearings. These sources show federal immigration agents engaging in what looks like criminal conduct, including physical assaults, pepper spray, damage to property, like breaking windows, threatening residents, and pointing guns at residents.”
Raimond went on to refer to the case of Marimar Martinez, who was shot five times on the streets of Brighton Park by U.S. Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum in October 2025.
“Federal agents rammed her car and Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum shot her five times, and then bragged about it. Has CPD investigated? And if not, why not?” Raimond continued. “Local law enforcement has the legal authority to investigate federal agents and refer those cases to the [Cook County] State’s Attorney. Qualified immunity is no excuse.”
Another referenced incident was the mass detention in the South Loop in June 2025. Federal agents detained at least 10 people who were told to check in for an immigration appointment. CPD was on the scene to provide traffic and crowd control, according to Snelling.
Those who spoke during the meeting were critical not only of Snelling and CPD, but also of commissioners, who they say aren’t moving with a sense of urgency.
Raimond and nine others were selected at random to give public comments during the meeting. Residents were also critical of the process and its timing, as the meeting fell during Passover and before Easter.
Another speaker highlighted reporting from Block Club Chicago, in which Snelling refused to participate in the meeting if it included legal, police reform and immigration experts. Snelling addressed this in his opening statement and said the conversation was initially to include CPD, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
“Why does the commission continue to delay meaningful action in favor of needless deliberation in the face of the people and the public who have come to express their grievances and ask for accountability regarding CPD and ICE collaboration,” CAARPR member Kayla Nguyen asked.
At the March monthly meeting, four commissioners didn’t show up, meaning there wasn’t a quorum to vote on a measure that would tap the city’s OIG to audit CPD’s compliance with the Welcoming City Ordinance.
Last night, a vote was taken on the issue, and it was approved 7-1. Commissioner Sandra Wortham voted no.
After the vote, Snelling was called to the stage with the commissioners. The discussion format for Thursday’s meeting only included questions posed by commissioners, police district councilors and community members.
“We hope the conversation will provide clarity and provide what CPD officers can and should do during federal immigration enforcement activities, CCPSA President Remel Terry said.
Snelling fielded questions for over half an hour about what guidance CPD should be taking in instances where federal agents are breaking the law, why officers in certain instances throughout last fall were facing protestors with their backs turned to federal agents, how the agency sets up traffic perimeters, and how community members can file complaints about federal agents. There were also questions about what Snelling considers collaboration between CPD and federal agents.
In response to questions, Snelling praised the Chicago police for their response during the Midway Blitz operation.
“No one wrote the ordinance and the law with this type of immigration enforcement in mind. I do not believe under any circumstances that anyone writing those policies, those orders, those laws, believed that we would see what we saw this past fall,” Snelling said. “So what I’m going to tell you is this: when it comes to the Chicago Police Department and the Chicago police officers, our officers showed up to keep down violence.”
The Welcoming City Ordinance prevents CPD from cooperating with ICE to enforce federal immigration laws. There’s also the Illinois Trust Act and the Keep Illinois Families Together Act, both of which make Illinois a sanctuary state and also prevent local law enforcement agencies from working with federal immigration officials.
Snelling also referred to what’s called the supremacy clause, a federal law that prohibits states from interfering with federal agents when they’re engaging in their duties. The law prohibits local police officers from arresting federal agents while they’re carrying out their duties.
“If it’s within the scope of their duties, the supremacy law does not allow us to make a determination if they’re acting outside of the scope of their duties to make an arrest,” Snelling said, referring to federal agents. “So we have to be very clear about what that is. It’s tough to figure out, and it puts our officers in a very, very difficult position.”
In January, Mayor Brandon Johnson signed “ICE On Notice,” an executive order that instructs Chicago police to investigate alleged illegal activity by federal immigration agents and send evidence of possible felonies to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
However, last week, Johnson backpedaled on the executive order, saying it was no longer necessary, according to reports.
Snelling confirmed that the executive order is still in the works.
In February, Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke implemented a new protocol enabling her office to pursue felony charges against federal immigration agents in cases where felony charges are appropriate.
On Friday, the Illinois Accountability Commission sent letters requesting testimony at two upcoming hearings from current and former members of the Trump administration, responsible for “Midway Blitz.” The meetings will be held on April 27 and April 28 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at 160 N. LaSalle Street. More details can be found here.
The list includes Stephen Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy; Tom Homan, White House Border Czar; Kristi Noem, former Secretary of Homeland Security; Gregory Bovino, former “Commander at Large” of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP); Tricia McLaughlin, former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Public Affairs and Corey Lewandowski, former Homeland Security Special Government Employee, plus more.
This is part of the commission’s ongoing collection of evidence into the widespread “federal misconduct and reckless tactics deployed by federal agents across Chicago and Illinois,” according to a written release.
