Trump Immigration Squad Uses Tear Gas in Chicago Protests

(CHICAGO) Federal immigration agents deployed tear gas during a series of arrests and street clashes in Chicago in October 2025, prompting emergency court hearings, new civil rights complaints, and renewed debate over the city’s stance toward federal immigration enforcement. The confrontations unfolded under “Operation Midway Blitz,” an enhanced push ordered under President Trump to ramp up immigration arrests across the city and its neighborhoods.

Use of Chemical Agents During Enforcement Raids

According to officials and court filings, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) teams used chemical agents multiple times as they moved to make arrests tied to immigration warrants. The most visible flashpoint came on October 12, 2025, in Little Village, where residents linked arms to prevent agents from taking away a neighbor.

CBP says officers issued “lawful orders” to clear the street and warned that tear gas would be used if people refused to move. Video from that day shows CBP Commander Gregory Bovino tossing at least one canister of tear gas toward the crowd as the block erupted into shouting and confusion.

Attorneys say other scenes unfolded without warning. On Kildare Avenue in Old Irving Park, lawyers representing residents reported chemical agents were launched into a group that included neighbors who had gathered after hearing shouting and seeing flashing lights. A similar account came from Lakeview at Henderson and Lakewood, where 44th Ward Alderman Bennett Lawson said residents were “just exercising their First Amendment rights” when officers fired tear gas that sent people coughing and stumbling away from their doorsteps.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defended the actions, describing a series of dangerous encounters where agents “were swarmed by agitators” who tried to block vehicles, deflate tires, and throw objects. In DHS’s account, officers issued multiple commands to disperse and used “riot control measures” only after warnings went ignored. The department said the response was “necessary to ensure the safety of both law enforcement and the public.” A statement from the DHS Secretary’s office said officers faced a surge in assaults as they moved to arrest “murderers, rapists, and gang members,” and added, “you will not stop us or slow us down.”

Chicago has some of the strongest sanctuary rules in the United States 🇺🇸, which limit local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. That long-running policy clash sharpened in 2025 as Operation Midway Blitz moved from early-morning knocks at homes to street-level standoffs that drew crowds and cell phone cameras.

ICE field offices, attorneys say, were told to hit daily arrest goals—an internal benchmark of 75 arrests per day during the surge. The operation involved multiple federal agencies, including ICE, CBP, the FBI, ATF, DEA, and the U.S. Marshals Service, creating a large enforcement footprint that pushed into residential blocks and commercial corridors.

Legal Fallout and City Response

The use of tear gas after a federal court order is now at the center of intense legal scrutiny. On October 9, 2025, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) limiting certain tactics—specifically including chemical irritants—when used to silence protests or block media coverage of immigration actions. Despite that order, new incidents occurred days later.

Judge Ellis called Commander Bovino into court and said from the bench, “I’m not blind,” citing news reports about aggressive tactics. In testimony, CBP officials insisted the uses of force were justified and followed agency rules, and they confirmed no agents had been disciplined.

Local civil rights groups quickly filed declarations from residents who said they experienced burning eyes, shortness of breath, and panic when chemical agents spread onto sidewalks and through open windows. Health advocates noted that tear gas poses extra risk to children, older adults, and people with asthma. Parents in Little Village told lawyers they struggled to calm kids who woke up coughing, while neighbors in Old Irving Park described cleaning residue from porches and cars and worrying about lingering effects.

City leaders pressed for answers on whether the federal actions violated the court’s order or Chicago’s ordinances. Aldermen demanded briefings on coordination between federal teams and any local agencies present at the scenes. While Chicago police maintain they did not direct federal arrests in these episodes, residents said they saw local and federal uniforms side-by-side, adding to confusion over who issued commands and who was responsible for crowd control.

For immigrant families, the sudden, noisy raids reopened old fears. Community hotlines reported spikes in calls about unmarked vehicles, agents in tactical gear, and plainclothes teams staking out blocks near schools and grocery stores. Legal aid groups shifted staff to emergency response, coaching callers on:

• their right to remain silent,
• how to ask for a lawyer, and
• to request that officers slide any warrant under the door before opening it.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the public record shows enforcement surges of this scale often drive people away from court dates and routine check-ins, which can hurt their cases and lead to unnecessary arrests later.

Policy, Training, and Questions Over Use of Force

At the center of the dispute is whether DHS followed its own rules on force and warnings in crowd situations linked to immigration arrests. CBP’s public guidance says officers should use the least amount of force that is reasonable and must consider the safety of bystanders.

The agency’s policy materials, including its Use of Force framework, are posted on CBP’s website and outline factors officers should weigh before deploying chemical agents or other “less-lethal” tools. Readers can review the policy guidance on the CBP Use of Force Policy page for broader context on how the agency frames these decisions: CBP Use of Force Policy and Guidelines.

The Chicago incidents raise questions about line-drawing between protest activity and interference with arrests. DHS argues the crowds were not just chanting but physically blocking vehicles and threatening agents. Lawyers for residents say people were standing on public sidewalks, filming, and asking officers to show a warrant, which is their right.

That difference matters:
– If a crowd is engaged in peaceful activity, a TRO limiting chemical irritants may apply.
– If a crowd is actively blocking arrests, agents will argue they can use force to clear a path.

Federal teams are trained for arrests, not long-term crowd management in dense neighborhoods. When arrests draw neighbors, activists, or journalists, split-second choices about force carry legal and political risk. Once tear gas disperses into a Chicago side street, there’s no easy way to contain who breathes it in—a child at a window, a passerby on a bike, an elderly neighbor watering plants, or the very person officers came to arrest, whose medical condition may be unknown.

Lawyers say the court will likely probe several points:
1. Whether warnings were clear and audible.
2. Whether less intrusive steps were tried first.
3. Whether media and legal observers were targeted.
4. Whether force continued after people started to back away.

Judge Ellis could:
– extend the TRO,
– require detailed reporting of each chemical deployment,
– order body-camera footage and incident logs to be preserved and turned over.

If the court finds violations, remedies could include contempt findings or tighter limits on field tactics during Operation Midway Blitz.

Important: The court’s scrutiny could lead to immediate operational changes and required disclosures from federal agencies — including documentation of each chemical agent deployment and associated warnings.

Advice for Residents and Reporting Guidance

For Chicago’s immigrant communities, the practical advice from legal groups is direct:

• Keep doors closed and ask officers to slide any warrant under the door. Check for a judge’s signature.
• Do not sign documents without talking to a lawyer.
• If exposed to tear gas:
  • Move to fresh air,
  • Remove contact lenses,
  • Rinse eyes with clean water,
  • Seek medical care if symptoms persist.
• Save videos and photos with time and location data. These records may help in court later.

Civil rights organizations urge witnesses to document:
– time and location,
– unit markings and badge numbers if visible,
– the sequence of warnings, if any.

They suggest contacting trusted legal aid groups first, then filing complaints with oversight offices. Chicago officials say they are gathering accounts to inform the city’s legal strategy and to decide whether to ask the court for further limits on federal tactics inside the city.

Political Context and What’s Next

Politically, the clashes reflect a wider fight between city leaders who support sanctuary policies and an administration pressing for mass arrests and removals.

• The federal team portrays the surge as a push to find and detain people with serious criminal histories.
• Advocates counter that many arrested in past sweeps had no violent record or were picked up as “collaterals.”

That gap in narratives fuels mistrust, which grows when force is used on neighborhood streets.

As the court weighs next steps, the question for Chicago is whether the mix of high arrest goals, multi-agency teams, and street-level resistance will keep producing explosive results. For now, neighbors in Little Village, Old Irving Park, and Lakeview are still talking about the sharp burn in the air, the sight of officers in heavy gear, and the fear that the next knock could bring more tear gas to their block.

And with Operation Midway Blitz still active, both DHS and city officials know the next encounter could land back in Judge Ellis’s courtroom within hours.