In the shadow of a heated national debate over immigration, federal enforcement campaigns have intensified in cities across the United States, leaving communities in Chicago and Oregon grappling with fear, outrage, and resilience. The recent launch of "Operation Midway Blitz" in Chicago, coupled with a surge in aggressive actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Oregon, has reignited questions about the limits of federal power, the rights of residents, and the true impact of these high-profile crackdowns.
Since early September 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has orchestrated a sweeping immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, detaining at least 1,000 people, according to the Los Angeles Times. Dubbed "Operation Midway Blitz," the campaign has drawn sharp comparisons to a similar wave of raids in Los Angeles earlier this year. The Trump administration has justified the deployment of federal agents by painting Chicago as a "war zone," blaming Illinois’ status as a sanctuary state for an alleged surge in undocumented criminals. Yet, as The Times reports, a dramatic video released by the White House to support this narrative featured outdated footage not even filmed in Chicago—a move critics decried as misleading.
On September 30, the enforcement reached a dramatic peak when agents from ICE, the FBI, and U.S. Border Patrol descended from Black Hawk helicopters onto a South Shore apartment building, zip-tying and detaining hundreds of residents. The target was allegedly members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal organization. Yet, of the 37 people arrested, only one had any connection to the group. Neighbor Darrell Ballard told CNN, “I’ve been on military bases for a good portion of my life. And the activity I saw—it was an invasion.”
Such military-style tactics have not been limited to Chicago. In Oregon, ICE agents have repeatedly stormed homes and businesses, often without warrants, and with weapons drawn. On October 15, several armed ICE officers in Gresham, Oregon, shouted the name of a man outside an apartment for over an hour before forcing their way inside. Maricruz Andres, who was inside with her baby, stepfather, and brother, recorded the officers as they arrested her family members—neither of whom were the man ICE claimed to be seeking. “Everything was very ugly and it was an injustice,” Andres told The Oregonian. “It made me angry and sad that they treated us like that because we are not criminals.”
These incidents are not isolated. In the last two months, ICE agents in Oregon have pulled Latino high school students out of cars at gunpoint, detained construction workers at job sites, and pinned a man to the ground in Portland as he pleaded in Spanish, “I can’t breathe.” According to the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition, calls to their hotline have soared from about 40 a month to 700, reflecting a dramatic rise in enforcement activity and community anxiety.
Federal officials maintain that these operations are necessary to remove dangerous criminals from American streets. A senior Homeland Security official told The Oregonian that the Gresham raid targeted a “violent” man from Mexico with a history of assault and harassment. The official acknowledged that Andres’ relatives were not the intended targets but referred to them as “aliens from Mexico.” In Chicago, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended agents’ actions, including firing pepper balls at a pastor and deploying tear gas in busy neighborhoods.
The Trump administration frames these campaigns as a direct response to sanctuary policies, which they claim shield dangerous criminals from federal law enforcement. Officials argue that Democratic leaders in Illinois and Oregon have obstructed federal efforts, prioritizing the protection of undocumented immigrants over the safety of American citizens. “The tables will turn one day,” Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker warned on Fox 32 Chicago, suggesting that federal agents could face prosecution for their actions once the current administration leaves office. “These people should recognize that maybe they’re not gonna get prosecuted today, although we’re looking at doing that, but they may get prosecuted after the Trump administration because the statute of limitations would not have run out.”
Yet, the public’s response has been far from supportive. According to an Economist/YouGov poll released in October 2025, a majority of Americans believe ICE agents are using excessive force, and most support requiring agents to wear uniforms and banning the use of masks during arrests. In the communities most affected by the raids, the impact has been devastating. In Chicago’s predominantly Latino neighborhoods, businesses have reported a 60% drop in revenue as customers stay home out of fear. Students have stopped attending school, and families like those of Victor José Brito Vallejo in Portland have been forced into hiding or even homelessness after traumatic encounters with ICE.
Despite the climate of fear, local residents and advocates are pushing back. In both Chicago and Oregon, neighbors have organized to monitor ICE activity, alert one another, and demand warrants before allowing agents to enter homes. Videos circulating on social media show residents in Hillsboro, Oregon, blocking ICE vehicles with their cars and calmly insisting on their rights. Elizabeth Aguilera of Adelante Mujeres described a recent standoff: “The power of community was felt at the scene because neighbors and legal observers were present but did not interfere—they asked for a warrant from the ICE agents, filmed the incident, and called the PIRC (Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition) hotline.”
Legal challenges are mounting as well. A federal lawsuit filed by immigration lawyers in Oregon alleges that ICE agents have deliberately kept lawyers from detainees and ramped up arrests in cities like Hillsboro, Eugene, and Woodburn. The suit warns that those swept up in the dragnet could be rapidly deported to countries they have never lived in, raising the stakes for families caught in the crossfire.
Through it all, life in these cities carries on—if nervously. In Chicago, the city’s marathon drew 50,000 runners without incident, even as raids continued. In Oregon, volunteers hand out "Know Your Rights" cards and document every encounter, determined to protect their neighbors and hold authorities accountable.
As the debate over immigration enforcement rages on, the stories emerging from Chicago and Oregon reveal not only the profound costs of these operations but also the resilience and solidarity of the communities caught in their wake.
