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.

Mayor Katrina Thompson in a letter to the ICE Field Office Director Russell Hott on Friday claimed ICE’s response to protesters exercising their First Amendment rights outside the Broadview facility is “endangering nearby village residents” and harming Broadview’s police and firefighters.

Across the city and surrounding suburbs, other teams were fanning out in support of “Operation Midway Blitz.” It has unleashed President Donald Trump’s mass deportations agenda on a city and state that has had some of the strongest laws preventing local officials from cooperating with immigration enforcement.

ICE launched its Chicago area operation dubbed “Midway Blitz” on Sept. 8, drawing concern from activists and immigrant communities who say there’s been a noticeable uptick in immigration enforcement agents.

Tens of thousands of Chicago-area Venezuelans are in legal limbo as the Trump administration attempts to end temporary protected status. These deportation protections were granted to Venezuelans in 2021 and 2023, and were originally set to expire in October 2026.

Homeland Security officials on Monday said they intend to target “criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois” in a new immigration operation after an Illinois woman was killed in a drunk driving crash allegedly involving an undocumented immigrant early this year.

With lots of money approved by Congress this summer starting to flow into ICE, the agency is in midst of a huge hiring effort as it aims to get thousands of new deportation officers into the field in the coming months.

The Miami Correctional Facility in Miami County, Indiana, is allowing the federal government to detain immigrants. It’s located about 130 miles southeast of Chicago’s border with Indiana and 70 miles north of Indianapolis.

According to agreements obtained by WTTW News, the Illinois State Police has shared data with ICE through its statewide computer system since 2008, including criminal history data and its gang member file, which could contain citizenship information, according to the LEADS manual.

Hasan Piker, who has 2.8 million followers on Twitch, recounted his experience online Monday saying he was questioned for hours a day earlier despite being born in the U.S. and enrolled in Global Entry, a federal program allowing low-risk passengers to travel through customs and passport control quickly.

As Illinois residents scrambled to meet the Real ID deadline, many instead ran into long lines, appointment shortages and confusing documentation rules. Public records reveal widespread frustration — especially among seniors — as the rollout strained DMV systems across the state.

Travelers who aren’t Real ID compliant by the upcoming deadline this week will still be able to fly but should be prepared for extra scrutiny, the head of Homeland Security said Tuesday.

The Trump administration says it is going to pay immigrants in the United States illegally who’ve returned to their home country voluntarily $1,000 as it pushes forward with its mass deportation agenda.

For some local advocates who work on immigrations issues, the action is a welcome one.

The report details how the agencies failed to recognize and warn of the potential for violence as some of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters openly planned the siege in messages and forums online.

The U.S. federal government has yet again delayed nationwide security requirements for driver’s licenses and other identification cards, giving states, including Illinois, more time to issue REAL IDs to residents.