Overview

• Operation Midway Blitz continued across Chicago and suburbs with arrests near courthouses and in West Chicago, with agents using unmarked vehicles and transfers to detention in Indiana and Wisconsin.
• Illinois leaders, including Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Rep. Delia Ramirez, demanded transparency and video release in the Sept. 12 killing of Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez during an ICE stop in Franklin Park.
• Human Rights Watch urged a DHS inspector general probe after CCTV appeared to conflict with claims that an agent was dragged, and the Chicago Sun-Times reported the FBI is leading the inquiry.
• DHS maintained the agent used appropriate force and framed targets as dangerous offenders; Secretary Kristi Noem visited Chicago and said arrests included suspects in assault, DUI and felony stalking cases.
• Community groups reported a surge in hotline calls, protests and know-your-rights trainings, while attorneys flagged due-process concerns and a possibly retaliatory detention of a day laborer involved in a civil-rights lawsuit.