Chicago, IL — In response to new reporting that of the nearly 1,900 people arrested through the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz, two-thirds had no criminal convictions or pending charges, Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Lisa Hernandez said the following:
“Operation Midway Blitz was never about targeting crime. It has always been about weaponizing and normalizing racism; profiling first, and asking questions later. Hundreds of community members have been kidnapped off the streets of Illinois, and with Trump’s promise to return to Chicago with an even bigger operation, we know it’s a threat to kidnap and destabilize even more families.”
Today’s news follows previous reporting that of the 614 people arrested through the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz, only 16 of them had criminal histories.
Key excerpts from Chicago Tribune: Nearly 1,900 immigrants were detained during the first half of Operation Midway Blitz. Most had no criminal record.
By Joe Mahr and Laura Rodríguez Presa
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Of the 1,895 people detained by ICE, 1,271 lacked any criminal record. Another 343 people arrested had a pending criminal charge, while 281 had a criminal conviction. Of those with a criminal conviction, the vast majority of offenses were misdemeanors, traffic citations or non-violent felonies. Only 28 arrestees —1.5% — had been convicted of a violent felony or sex crime.
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The agency argued in a past news release that its efforts collectively helped lower crime as part of what it called “a historic win in the fight against violent criminal illegal alien crime.” The boast, however, ignored several consecutive years of decreases in Chicago’s violent crime.
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“Bovino and his ‘gang’ may be gone for now, but our community is still reeling from the assault, still counting the people who’ve been disappeared from our lives, still bracing for the next wave. We can’t truly heal until we’re no longer living under the constant threat of their return,” [Erendira Endon of The Resurrection Project] said.
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Brandon Lee of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights said the figures underscore DHS’ lack of transparency about the operation, noting that the agency has not provided a breakdown of arrests or disclosed where many detainees were taken. They said the newly released numbers further support allegations that agents used unconstitutional tactics, racially profiling Latinos, “arresting first and asking questions later.”
