Editor’s note: Below are excerpts from a story that ran on Chicago’s ABC 7 Eyewitness News on Oct. 1 about an outrageous attack by ICE and other federal agents on an apartment building in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood in the early morning of Sept. 30. According to published reports, federal agents came in on a military helicopter and in rental trucks, flash-bang grenades were set off in the building, apartment doors were blown off their hinges and children were marched out bound with zip ties. “We’re under siege here. We’re being invaded by our own military,” said one resident. Protests have broken out in Chicago in response to raids like this one, and there has been widespread negative community reaction to the raid. This illegal and unjustified attack is an ominous sign of what might be to come for any neighborhood in the U.S. The government claims such raids are about finding “criminals,” but anyone serious about reducing crime knows that crime reduction comes from improving people’s lives, not from applying more force and violating the Constitution. The raids are simply an excuse to establish a police state as the Trump forces move to establish a dictatorship. Trump, meanwhile, has suggested that cities like Chicago can be a “training ground” for the military. A link to the full story is below the excerpt, along with a link to a related video.
CHICAGO (WLS) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided a South Shore apartment building overnight as the city braces for a possible military deployment.
Residents and neighbors are speaking out at what they call a traumatic event.
“My building is shaking. So, I’m like, ‘What is that?’ Then I look out the window, it’s a Blackhawk helicopter,” said witness Dr. Ali Muhammad.
Wednesday morning, DHS officials said in a statement, “”In the early morning hours of September 30, 2025, allied federal law enforcement agencies with CBP, FBI, and ATF, executed an enforcement operation in Chicago’s South Shore area, a location known to be frequented by Tren de Aragua members and their associates. Some of the targeted subjects are believed to be involved in drug trafficking and distribution, weapons crimes, and immigration violators.”
DHS said 37 people were arrested.
ABC7 spoke to Pertissue Fisher, a woman who lives in the building. She said ICE agents took everyone in the building, including her, and asked questions later.
“They just treated us like we were nothing,” Fisher said.
