Editor’s Note: This article was first published in the People’s Tribune’s bilingual sister publication, Tribuno del Pueblo. It was written by co-editor Laura Garcia with collaboration from all members of the Tribuno Editorial Board. As we republish this story it has been reported that National Guard troops from Texas have arrived in Chicago. See Chicago Mayor Brandon’s speech the day before their arrival.
Armed, camouflaged and masked forces are walking the streets, stopping anyone at will. If you hesitate to obey their orders, you find yourself face down on the pavement with two or three agents on top of you.
Is this an authoritarian country in Latin America or the Middle East? No. This is Chicago USA. During the last week-end of September, ICE agents patrolled downtown Chicago, instilling fear and detaining “Latino” looking pedestrians.
This last scenario followed weeks of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents rampaging throughout Chicago’s South Side and the North Side, as well as the West Side in Chicago. In September 2025, (ICE) conducted “Operation Midway Blitz,” leading to over 500 arrests by late September, though the exact number could vary based on different reports.
ICE agents have been pulling people from cars, forcing their way into homes, stopping and detaining working people at bus stops and Home Depot parking lots. No one is spared — young or old, women, children or men. Their crime? — appearing to be Latino, speaking Spanish and looking like low-paid workers.
Ironically, September is Hispanic Month. What a way of celebrating the services and contributions of Hispanics, Latinos, and Latine.
ICE Invasion of Chicago
In the beginning of September Homeland Security began “Operation Midway Blitz.” It sent hundreds of ICE agents to rid the city of “criminals and rapists,” and supposedly because Chicago as a sanctuary city is conducive to harboring “murderers, rapists, and freeloaders.” But, all ICE has found, for the most part, is working migrants.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) has stated, “Fewer than 30% of those who’ve been arrested have any kind of criminal background whatsoever,” Durbin said. “So 70% of the people who are being detained have no criminal record. The president can rant about rapists and murderers and terrorists and criminally insane people coming in as immigrants. But those who are being arrested don’t have any indication of that behavior.
It didn’t take long for this brutal hunt for our undocumented migrant sisters and brothers to end in death.
On September 12, Silverio Villegas-Gonzales, 38 years-old and a father, was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Franklin Park, Illinois, after dropping off his two sons at school. Contrary to what ICE says, he had no criminal record.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that the ICE agent was trying to arrest Villegas-Gonzales when he resisted and attempted to drive his car into the agent when the agent fatally shot him in self-defense. A later video disproved DHS’s statement.
As for Villegas-Gonzales’s criminal record, CBS News Chicago Investigators found he had four traffic violations between 2010 and 2019 for speeding, an expired driver’s license, not having insurance, and not having a child restraint seat. Our condolences go to Villegas-Gonzales’ family.
The latest assault on Chicagoans happened on September 30 where a combined military operation (ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, FBI and the ATF) assaulted a South Shore apartment that led to 37 detentions and the separation of four children from their parents. See the full story here. See also this ABC7 video here.
The Resistance
But here’s the light in these dark times. Chicagoans are resisting just as in many other cities, like Los Angeles and New York. The resistance to the ICE invasion of our communities is characterized by people recognizing their common humanity and coming together.
It is taking many forms – marches, demonstrations, occupations, disruptions, lawsuits, social media posts, exposes by independent media, communities coming together to defend themselves, coalitions built, and unions, veterans, faith communities and other groups stepping forward. But what is so heartening is the small acts carried out by individuals–giving their neighbors rides to work, bringing groceries to them and taking their children to school.
Millions of people understand that the abductions and the increasingly militarized policing of their cities is designed to pave the way for a full-blown dictatorship where no one will be safe. (As this editorial is written it has been announced that 100 national guard troops have been deployed to Chicago to protect ICE agents from the protestors).
The invasions of our cities by masked unidentified men and soldiers, and the abductions, detentions and deportations of immigrants in particular has touched a nerve. An awakening is happening where people are realizing that if these authoritative measures are not stopped, no one is safe. (As this editorial is been written federal troops have been sent to Memphis, Tennessee and Portland, Oregon to fight “criminals”.) Who will be next?
“They shall not pass” is the historical slogan of anti-fascist forces world wide.
