Human Impact Project

Federal immigration enforcement officer Bovino was found by U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis to have lied about a rock-throwing incident used to justify deploying tear gas against protesters in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood during Operation Midway Blitz. Video evidence contradicted his claim that he was hit by a rock before throwing tear gas, and the judge issued a preliminary injunction against federal immigration agents for violating her temporary restraining order by using force without warning.

ICE states that video footage from Broadview Detention Center was lost in a system crash on October 31, one day after the facility was sued on October 30 for allegedly abusing detainees. Two weeks of surveillance footage was reportedly destroyed. Government lawyers stated they lack resources to preserve surveillance footage.

Two U.S. citizens, Aliya Rahman and Marimar Martinez, testified before Congress about their experiences being apprehended by ICE. Rahman, who is disabled, was forcibly removed from her car while en route to a medical appointment in Minneapolis and denied medical care in detention. Martinez was shot five times by ICE agents in Chicago while attempting to warn neighbors about ICE presence in the area.

Antonio Enriquez, 53, a lawful permanent resident, was walking to a store in Melrose Park when federal agents in unmarked vehicles demanded to see his documents. When he told them his green card and documents were at home, agents ignored his pleas and pushed him to the ground, handcuffing him after he resisted. He was taken to an ICE facility and held for six hours until his daughter brought copies of his green card and Social Security card.

A U.S. citizen in his early 20s and his undocumented father were stopped by federal agents while walking to La Chiquita grocery store in Little Village to buy carne asada and beans. Both men were arrested and transported to the ICE facility in Broadview. The son was later released but said agents dismissed his pleas that his younger brother has epilepsy and needs their father's care. The father remains in ICE detention out of state. The son requested anonymity to protect his father from potential retaliation.

Two homeschooled brothers, Sam (16) and Ben (17) Luhmann, have been patrolling West Chicago and surrounding areas since mid-September to document federal immigration enforcement activity during Operation Midway Blitz. The brothers have had numerous encounters with ICE agents and have been threatened with arrest while documenting their activities. Their efforts represent part of a broader youth activism movement against the enforcement operation across the Chicago area.

Rafael Veraza and his 1-year-old daughter were allegedly pepper-sprayed by ICE agents in a Chicago suburb while the family was going grocery shopping. The incident occurred last week, and the family held a news conference to discuss the alleged use of force. The Department of Homeland Security has disputed the allegation.

Federal agents sprayed pepper spray from a moving vehicle at a line of cars exiting a Sam's Club parking lot in Cicero on Saturday morning, striking a 1-year-old child among other occupants. Video footage shows a masked federal agent firing chemical irritants through open car windows.

An Indian American employee of the Illinois Department of Transportation who is a U.S. citizen was questioned by three masked federal agents on November 7 while working at a Busse Highway resurfacing project in Park Ridge. The agents asked whether the employee had traveled to New York and if he was aware of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who is also Indian. Governor JB Pritzker's office condemned the stop as a targeted questioning of a state employee with no legitimate reason.

Waukegan Alderman Juan Martinez was briefly detained by U.S. immigration enforcement agents on Baldwin Avenue while stuck in traffic on November 7, 2025. Four federal agents drew guns on Martinez while he sat in his car with his hands raised, with one agent threatening to shoot him. The agents eventually left after community members identified Martinez as a city alderman, and he filed a police report with the Waukegan Police Department.

On November 5, 2025, ICE agents detained Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, a teacher at Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center in Chicago's North Center neighborhood, during morning drop-off hours. According to DHS, officers conducted a traffic stop that led to a vehicle pursuit ending at the daycare facility. Agents entered and forcibly removed Galeano in front of children and parents, searching the facility. Galeano claimed to have work authorization and a pending asylum case, while DHS identified her as undocumented from Colombia. A federal judge subsequently ruled her mandatory detention illegal and ordered a bond hearing before an immigration judge. The incident prompted a rally of hundreds of community members and local officials demanding ICE stay out of schools and daycares.

ICE agents pointed rifles at bystanders and attempted to break down doors while conducting an enforcement action at Salem Walk apartments in unincorporated Northbrook on November 5, 2025. The operation, which lasted approximately 50 minutes and involved over a dozen agents and an armored vehicle, resulted in the arrest of Alan Eduardo Garcia, who had a history of violent convictions. Residents and community members confronted agents and filmed the incident.

Cole Sheridan, 27, a hospitality worker, was accused of pushing and swinging at U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino during an October 3 protest in Broadview, Illinois, and spent three days in custody. The federal case was dismissed on November 3, 2025, after video surfaced showing Sheridan was pushed down and was not in front of Bovino during the incident. Sheridan said the footage proved there was no altercation with Bovino as described in the criminal complaint. Several other cases against Chicago-area protesters and immigrants involving similar discrepancies in Bovino's accounts have also been dismissed.

Ricardo Rodriguez, a 53-year-old construction worker and father of two deaf teenagers, was arrested by federal agents on Sunday morning in Melrose Park, Illinois while riding his bicycle home from a grocery store. According to video footage, agents grabbed him in a stranger's driveway, pepper-sprayed him, placed him in a chokehold, and struck his head. He was gasping and saying 'Por favor, amigo' during the encounter. Rodriguez was taken to Gottlieb Memorial Hospital with head wounds and complaints of chest pains. While hospitalized, federal agents restricted visitation from his U.S. citizen sister and other family members.

Federal immigration agents, including ICE and Border Patrol personnel, deployed tear gas and other riot control weapons against protesters during enforcement operations in Chicago and Illinois beginning in September 2025. On October 14, 2025, Border Patrol agents pursued a vehicle on Chicago's East Side, using a precision immobilization technique (PIT maneuver) to stop it at the intersection of 105th and Avenue N, resulting in a collision. Two undocumented immigrants fled on foot and were arrested. When residents gathered to protest the operation, federal agents deployed tear gas, exposing 13 Chicago police officers to the gas. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on October 9 limiting crowd-control tactics, but subsequent court filings alleged violations occurring almost daily. An analysis of 28 protest events found seven instances of riot control weapons use without apparent threats and 19 instances of excessive force.

A CBP agent was recorded on video on October 31, 2025, repeatedly striking a 27-year-old Chicago man while he was pinned down near Oakton and Asbury in Evanston following a car crash and confrontation between agents and residents. Body-worn camera footage shows him telling officers he needed medical attention, which he did not receive during about five hours in federal custody. He was later charged with assaulting, resisting and impeding federal officers and was not required to post bond. Two other citizens detained in the incident were released without charges after a similar period in custody.

Krzysztof Klim, originally from Poland and now a U.S. citizen, was briefly detained and handcuffed by Border Patrol agents on October 31, 2025, outside a home in Chicago's Edison Park neighborhood while they verified his identification. He was later released.

Two U.S. citizen plumbers working on a property on Harding Avenue in Skokie were approached and questioned by federal agents during immigration enforcement operations on October 31, 2025. Witnesses reported agents profiled and requested identification documents from the workers, though no detentions occurred. The homeowner, who hired the workers, stated the agents had no constitutional authority to conduct such stops and expressed concern about the targeting of American citizens.

Three U.S. citizens were arrested following a crash and confrontation during a federal immigration enforcement operation at the intersection of Asbury and Oakton in Evanston on October 31, 2025. A red vehicle rear-ended a federal agent vehicle; witnesses reported agents braked suddenly while the government stated agents were attempting a U-turn. During the confrontation, pepper spray was deployed and community members who intervened were also arrested. The three arrested individuals' identities and specific charges remain unclear.

Edgar Ruiz, a U.S. citizen born in Chicago, was tased in the face by ICE agents outside a 7-Eleven in Des Plaines on October 31, 2025. He was detained for approximately two hours before being released and hospitalized. His undocumented father remained in ICE custody following the incident. Edgar Ruiz, a U.S. citizen born in Chicago, was tased in the face by ICE agents outside a 7-Eleven store in Des Plaines on September 16, 2025, during an operation targeting his undocumented father. Ruiz attempted to hold his vehicle's door closed when agents arrived, and was tased when the agent tried to open it. He was detained for approximately two hours at a facility in Lombard before being released and taken to a hospital for medical attention. His father, Rigoberto Ruiz, who has lived in the United States for 30 years, remained in ICE custody.