On a brisk October morning in downtown Los Angeles, a crowd gathered, voices echoing off the city’s glass and concrete. Their message was clear: they were rallying against what they described as President Donald Trump’s “hardline and dangerous” immigration policies, particularly the ongoing federal immigration raids sweeping across the country. Labor groups, immigrant advocates, and a patchwork of activist organizations joined forces, urging Angelenos to raise their voices in opposition. The coalition announced plans for a follow-up rally on Saturday, October 4, at the Sixth Street Bridge—evidence that their determination was not waning.
But Los Angeles is just one flashpoint in a sprawling national controversy over immigration enforcement. According to reporting by ABC7 and Newsweek, the Trump administration has pressed forward with what it calls the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. At the heart of the uproar is a series of high-profile raids and detentions, many of which have raised urgent questions about civil rights, racial profiling, and the rule of law.
In Chicago, the tension came to a head on Sunday, September 28, when a family of four—two parents and their children, ages three and eight—were detained by federal agents at Millennium Park. As WLS reported, the family was simply enjoying a sunny afternoon at their daughter’s request when masked, armed agents, led by U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino, swept through the area. The operation, codenamed “Operation Midway Blitz,” was part of the administration’s broader deportation agenda.
Attorneys for the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) quickly stepped in. In a court motion filed on Tuesday, October 1, they argued that the agents had not obtained warrants or made any flight risk determinations before detaining the family—a clear violation, they said, of the 2022 “Castañon Nava” settlement. That agreement requires ICE to establish probable cause and assess flight risk before making warrantless arrests in the Chicago area, which covers Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kentucky, and Kansas.
“The family simply wanted to enjoy the warm Sunday afternoon in Millennium Park at their daughter’s insistence,” the court filing stated. Yet, by the end of the day, one parent was transferred to detention in Texas, while the other parent and both children were held in a room at O’Hare airport. Video evidence submitted to the court even shows federal agents relying on the young daughter to translate for her parents—an image that quickly spread across social media, fueling outrage and debate.
Judge Jeffery Cummings, presiding over the case in the Northern District of Illinois, expressed deep concern. “Many things [are] troubling me about these situations,” he said during a July hearing, according to court transcripts. “We don’t know the magnitude of this problem. It’s impossible to tell.” The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had not commented on the Chicago incident as of October 2, 2025, leaving many questions unanswered.
The controversy isn’t confined to cities like Los Angeles and Chicago. In Alabama, Leo Garcia Venegas, a U.S. citizen and construction worker, found himself at the center of a storm. According to Newsweek and the Institute for Justice, Venegas was detained twice in May and June 2025 during warrantless raids on private construction sites in Baldwin County. Both times, he presented his valid Alabama REAL ID driver’s license. Both times, he says, it wasn’t enough.
“It feels like there is nothing I can do to stop immigration agents from arresting me whenever they want,” Venegas said in a statement released by his attorneys. “I just want to work in peace. The Constitution protects my ability to do that.” Video evidence shows Venegas being forced to the ground by ICE agents, repeatedly shouting, “I’m a citizen.” He was handcuffed and detained for over an hour in the Alabama heat until officers agreed to verify his social security number. Less than a month later, he was again detained—this time for about 20 minutes—before being released.
Venegas, with support from the Institute for Justice, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on October 1, 2025, challenging what he and his attorneys describe as unconstitutional enforcement tactics. The suit alleges that federal agents are targeting workplaces without warrants and detaining individuals based on their ethnicity or “Latino-sounding names.” The Institute for Justice’s attorney, Jaba Tsitsuashvili, put it bluntly: “Immigration officers are not above the law. Leo is a hardworking American citizen standing up for everyone’s right to work without being detained merely for the way they look or the job that they do.”
For its part, DHS has fiercely pushed back. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin dismissed the lawsuit as “race-baiting opportunism,” insisting that “DHS law enforcement uses ‘reasonable suspicion’ to make arrests. What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S.—NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity.” She further argued, “There are no ‘indiscriminate stops’ being made. The Supreme Court recently vindicated us on this question. DHS enforces federal immigration law without fear, favor, or prejudice.”
The legal backdrop has only heightened the stakes. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court lifted a restraining order that had previously prevented immigration agents in Los Angeles from stopping people solely on the basis of race, language, or workplace. The decision allowed the Trump administration’s policies to remain in effect, even as legal challenges—like Venegas’s—continue to work their way through the courts. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing in a concurring opinion, downplayed concerns about profiling, stating, “As for stops of those individuals who are legally in the country, the questioning in those circumstances is typically brief, and those individuals may promptly go free after making clear to the immigration officers that they are U.S. citizens or otherwise legally in the United States.”
But for people like Venegas, that assurance rings hollow. “The raids continue in the neighborhoods,” he said in a video released by his attorneys. “I live in fear every day that when I get to work it will happen again.” His is not an isolated case: other U.S. citizens and legal residents across the country have reported similar experiences, from being pepper-sprayed and detained to being shackled while pregnant.
As the nation grapples with these stories, the debate over immigration enforcement is only intensifying. Advocates argue that the administration’s approach undermines constitutional protections and fosters a climate of fear, especially among minority communities. Supporters of the administration, meanwhile, maintain that strong enforcement is essential to upholding the law and protecting national security. Legal experts and civil rights organizations are watching closely as the courts weigh in on the constitutionality of these tactics.
Back in Los Angeles, as the city prepares for another rally, the sense of urgency is palpable. The outcome of these legal battles—and the broader fight over immigration policy—will shape the lives of millions and define the country’s values for years to come.
