BROADVIEW — ICE and border patrol agents tear gassed, shot pepper spray bullets at and detained protesters Friday morning outside of an immigrant detention center in suburban Broadview.
Large crowds gathered to protest early Friday outside of a barricaded U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, 1930 Beach St. in Broadview. ICE and border patrol agents in unmarked vehicles opened the gates and slowly drove into a crowd of demonstrators who were blocking the exit to protest the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz.
Agents clad head-to-toe in military gear — some carrying large guns — tossed cans of tear gas into the crowd while an officer on the roof of the building fired off pepper balls.
Federal immigration agents detained an unknown number of demonstrators.
Officers — who yelled orders muffled by their gas masks — pushed several protesters onto the ground and onto the hood of an ICE vehicle.
Immigration enforcement has appeared to ramp up in recent weeks as the federal government has launched operations Midway Blitz, led by ICE, and At Large, led by Border Patrol, which are targeting undocumented people in and around Chicago.
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Chicagoans have reported more sightings of federal immigration agents and more people being detained. More people have been showing up at protests outside the Broadview detention center, hoping to help immigrant neighbors and raise awareness of what’s happening.
ICE officials have refused to say how many people the agency has arrested. But earlier this week, Rep. Lauren Underwood said she was informed 250 people have been detained.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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