Federal agents at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Broadview, Illinois, a predominantly Black suburb of Chicago, have been using extreme force against protesters and journalists, according to viral videos and witness accounts. The incidents come as part of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operation, dubbed 'Operation Midway Blitz.'
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino were seen at the facility on Friday, where law enforcement has been cracking down on weekly demonstrations. Videos show agents deploying tear gas, pepper balls, and physically throwing protesters to the ground. One protester, A’keisha, who declined to provide her last name, said agents 'chose instead to be violent' rather than using legal tools to remove them.
Among those arrested were local officials and candidates, including Kat Abughazaleh, a congressional candidate who went viral after an ICE agent slammed her to the ground, and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss. The Broadview facility, not designed as a detention centre, has been holding detainees in overcrowded conditions with inadequate food, water, and hygiene supplies, according to reports.
Local businesses have also been affected, with tear gas seeping into a cabinet-making warehouse and workers hit by pepper balls. Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson wrote to the Department of Homeland Security, accusing ICE of 'making war in our community.' In response, the agency reportedly warned of a 's—t show' in Broadview.
Illinois has detained nearly 5,000 people this year, according to data from the Deportation Data Project. The situation has drawn widespread condemnation, with Reverend David Black of First Presbyterian Church of Chicago describing being pelted with pepper pellets while in prayer. 'I am very deeply rooted in my faith,' he said, 'in the ways that it calls me to show up in this moment.'
