ICE Arrests 37 In Chicago Apartment Raid, Residents Say They Feel ‘Defeated’

The Department of Homeland Security rained down on the city of Chicago, conducting one of the largest raids in the city, arresting 37 people from one South Shore apartment building.

On Sept. 30, federal agents from Border Patrol, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) raided nearly every unit at 7500 S. South Shore Drive, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Residents and witnesses say men, women, and children were forcibly removed from their apartments—some partially unclothed—arresting close to 40 individuals and detaining U.S. citizens for hours.

“I’m pissed off,” said resident Dan Jones. “I feel defeated because the authorities aren’t doing anything.”

Jones, 27, was woken up out of his sleep around 1 a.m. by the sound of federal agents attempting to break down his apartment door. Confident his double lock would hold, he went back to sleep. Hours later, as he left for work, he discovered shattered doors lining the hallway and noticed his neighbors were gone.

Toys, shoes, and food remained scattered in the building’s hallways on Oct. 1, while property managers hauled mattresses and broken doors into dumpsters. Video near 75th Street and South Shore Drive showed federal agents in large vehicles gathered outside, some wearing U.S. Border Patrol uniforms and others displaying FBI logos.

A spokesperson for Chicago’s FBI field office confirmed the bureau’s involvement, stating they were assisting a ‘targeted immigration enforcement operation’ led by Border Patrol, which resulted in 37 arrests. According to DHS, some of those detained are believed to be linked to drug trafficking, weapons offenses, and immigration violations.

Ebony Sweets Watson, who lives across the street, said it “looked like hundreds” of agents outside her home. She recalled seeing residents, including children, being dragged from the building—some without clothes—into U-Haul vans. She added that children were separated from their mothers during the operation.

“It was heartbreaking to watch,” Watson said. “Even if you’re not a mother, seeing kids coming out buck naked and taken from their mothers, it was horrible.”

Rodrick Johnson, 67, was among the U.S. citizens detained during the South Shore raid. He said agents broke down his door and restrained him with zip ties, leaving him tied up outside the building for nearly three hours before being released.

“I asked [agents] why they were holding me if I was an American citizen, and they said I had to wait until they looked me up,” Johnson said. “I asked if they had a warrant, and I asked for a lawyer. They never brought one.”

The raid is among the largest operations carried out since the Trump administration launched ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ on Sept. 8, sending a wave of federal immigration officers to the Chicago area for arrests and raids. Watson said she entered the building afterward to assist a resident and was stunned by what she found.

“Stuff was everywhere,” Watson said. “You could see people’s birth certificates and papers thrown all over. Water was leaking into the hallway. It was wicked crazy.”

By Oct. 3, tensions erupted into heated protests outside the Broadview ICE facility in Illinois. Since the launch of Trump’s ordered operation, the site has experienced escalating clashes between protesters and armed guards, with reports of agents deploying tear gas, pepper spray, and other chemical agents. Multiple arrests were reported during a visit by U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino.

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