Politics

Armed Federal Agents in Tactical Gear Patrol Downtown Chicago as Immigration Crackdown Escalates

Armed federal agents patrolled Chicago’s downtown streets on Sunday, a new escalation of an immigration enforcement crackdown in the city that followed President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will send troops to Portland in the latest examples of creeping federal law enforcement presence in U.S. cities.

Dozens of armed federal agents, in full tactical gear, walked the streets of some of the city’s most prominent tourist and shopping areas. That comes amid a surge of immigration enforcement that began early this month, including repeated conflict at an ICE building in Broadview, west of Chicago, where federal authorities on Friday and Saturday fired pepper balls and tear gas at protesters.

Trump said on social media Saturday that he was directing the Department of Defense to “provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland.” Trump said the decision was necessary to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities. His announcement was met with pushback from Oregon’s Democratic governor.

The moves follow Trump’s crime crackdown in the District of Columbia and actions in Los Angeles in response to immigration protests that turned violent with the arrival of troops.

On Sunday, federal agents marched along Michigan Avenue and the Chicago River, attracting attention from shoppers and families dining at sidewalk cafes. Many pulled out cameras to record. A small group of activists also trailed the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, blowing whistles and shouting.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson blasted the sudden physical show of force.

“While Chicagoans and visitors are enjoying another gorgeous Sunday, they are being intimidated by masked federal agents flaunting automatic weapons for no apparent reason,” Johnson said in a statement. “This is another brazen provocation from the Trump administration that does nothing to make our city safer.”

Federal agents patrol downtown Chicago, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025. (AP Photo / Sophia Tareen)

Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol agent central to the Los Angeles immigration crackdown, was among the agents who walked several miles in the city’s downtown core.

Federal officials have said the Chicago surge was intended to arrest “the worst of the worst” people in the country illegally and with criminal records. Bovino told The Associated Press that agents had made “several arrests” but declined to give specifics on whether the patrols downtown were aimed at specific people.

“We’ve always got a target that’s anyone who is here illegally," Bovino said.

Over the weekend, tension rose outside an ICE building in suburban 

Broadview about 12 miles west of Chicago. On Friday, agents repeatedly fired chemical agents toward a crowd of over 100 protesters after some of the group attempted to block a car from driving down a street toward the ICE building. Pepper bullets and tear gas canisters went into the crowd, most of them standing away from the fence and not blocking traffic.

Protesters and local reporters described similar scenes on Saturday night.

Broadview’s mayor criticized ICE for actions that she said have endangered local police, firefighters, residents near the facility and protesters.

In previous weeks, protesters had also tried to block agents’ vehicles from moving in or out of a yard next to the building.

Activists and family members of detainees have raised concerns in recent days that the facility meant to process arrestees is a de facto detention center plagued by inhumane conditions.

Trump previously threatened to send the National Guard into Chicago but has yet to follow through.

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