US EditionIllinois panel's first meeting over federal misconduct focuses on chemical agents
The commission heard testimonies of widespread federal misconduct during the crackdown that led to over 4,000 arrests and sparked community backlash and multiple lawsuits.
- On Thursday, a commission formed by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker held its first public hearing in Little Village to review the widespread use of chemical agents during a Chicago-area immigration operation that began in September.
- Created by Illinois Governor Pritzker, the Illinois Accountability Commission serves as an advisory body to document alleged federal harassment amid claims of overreach, with a report due next year.
- Community leaders at the Little Village hearing testified the operation devastated local businesses and school attendance, citing more than 4,000 arrests, a fatal shooting, lawsuits, and video of a toddler pepper sprayed.
- The commission acknowledged it lacks subpoena power and will issue a report next year with recommendations, while the Department of Homeland Security defended its approach targeting violent criminals despite records showing otherwise.
- A Wednesday confrontation with Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and the Illinois Accountability Commission's first hearing highlighted local tensions over federal immigration enforcement this week.
24 Articles
24 Articles
Illinois Accountability Commission holds 1st meeting on claims of abuse in 'Operation Midway Blitz'
The hearing was part of a larger effort to create a public record of federal agents' actions during "Operation Midway Blitz." In a future where Donald Trump is no longer president, it could result in the prosecution of those proven to have violated the law.
State commission highlights ‘unjustified’ uses of tear gas, pepper spray by federal immigration agents in Illinois
CHICAGO — After Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino and scores of his federal agents left Chicago last month, and immigration enforcement wound down, Matt DeMateo said daily life slowly but surely returned to normal.
State commission highlights ‘unjustified’ uses of tear gas, pepper spray by federal immigration agents
After Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino and scores of his federal agents left Chicago last month, and immigration enforcement wound down, Matt DeMateo said daily life slowly but surely returned to normal. Congregants started to fill church pews again on the Southwest Side and kids returned to school, said the CEO of the nonprofit New Life Centers of Chicagoland. But in the back of his mind, he waited and wondered if they would return. Those fe…
Chief of new Illinois panel vows to hold Trump immigration blitz accountable — 'We will not forget'
A panel of local officials took its first crack Thursday at trying to hold federal immigration agents accountable for the deluge of alleged abuses that have unfolded across the Chicago area under the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation campaign.The newly formed Illinois Accountability Commission heard from witnesses who described in painstaking detail just a handful of the violent interactions with Department of Homeland Security autho…
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