This is part of our series of daily recaps of ICE activity in the Chicago region. Have a tip we should check out? Email newsroom@blockclubchi.org.
CITY HALL — State Democrats are calling for an investigation into recent immigration enforcement operations that have included federal agents detaining United States citizens and deploying tear gas in Chicago neighborhoods.
U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General this week demanding an investigation into “alleged violations of due process rights and indiscriminate deployment of immigration enforcement actions impacting children.”
The letter, which Quigley said has been supported by the entire Illinois House Democratic Delegation, cites a recently-extended consent decree that limits warrantless arrests as well as multiple incidents in which federal agents used excessive force.
During a Friday news conference at City Hall, Quigley said federal immigration agents have “blatantly violated the rights of Chicagoans since they arrived in our city.”
“They have racially profiled citizens, conducted warrantless arrests, caused car accidents used excessive force leading to injuries and hospitalizations,” he said. “None of this is making us safe.”
The letter also lists a series of questions about the number of warrantless arrests that have occurred in Illinois since President Donald Trump took office, the number of U.S. citizens that have been arrested by federal law enforcement and details about what the Department of Homeland Security’s guidelines are regarding the use of force. The letter requests that answers be sent by Nov. 21.
The Department of Homeland Security did not reply to a request for comment.
Lakeview resident Leo Feler speaks during an Oct. 31, 2025 news conference. Credit: Molly DeVore/ Block Club Chicago
Neighbors who have been affected by recent immigration enforcement activities also spoke during the Friday news conference. Lakeview resident Leo Feler said federal agents jumped his five-foot-tall, wrought iron fence to detain a man who was working on his siding and windows just last week.
Feler said that last week masked agents jumped out of two unmarked vehicles and jumped his fence, chasing three construction workers, ultimately detaining one man inside his garage.
Feler was not home at the time of the incident, but one of his tenants was. He said that when she went outside and asked to see a warrant, the agents ignored her. He said the agents also climbed onto his balcony and tried to pull one of the workers out of a second story window. One of the workers was injured during the chase and Feler said he spent most of last weekend cleaning up blood.
Federal agents detained a construction worker in the 3300 block of North Lakewood Avenue in Lakeview, and then threw chemical agents at responding neighbors on Oct. 24, 2025. Credit: Provided
The federal agents deployed tear gas as Lakeview neighbors followed their cars after the arrest.
Feler called the event “a violent raid.”
“I’m not sure if they were injured because they were running through a construction site or because they were roughed up by the agents or both,” he said.
Feler tried to file a police report for trespassing, breaking and entering, burglary, battery, assault and kidnapping, but said officers at his local station said declined to file the report. He went to the Chicago Police Detective Bureau to file a report for criminal damage to property, but said the sergeant later called him and said they would not be able to continue with the report.
Ald. Bennett Lawson (44th) is currently working with Feler to get a report filed.
“Should the U.S. government be allowed to invade your property, to jump over a locked fence, to come onto your home simply because they might observe someone who looks Hispanic or Latino and who might be an immigrant on your property?” Feler asked the crowd during the Friday news conference.
Lakeview resident Leo Feler shows a photo of a worker who was injured during an immigration raid at Feler’s house on October 24. Credit: Molly DeVore/ Block Club Chicago
Vanessa Aguirre-Ávalos, the owner of Luna y Cielo Play Cafe in Logan Square, shared how immigration enforcement has affected her business, which caters to bilingual children and families looking to practice their Spanish.
At the start of the month, federal agents deployed tear gas outside Luna y Cielo, which sits next to Funston Elementary School, 3616 W. Armitage Ave.
“Inside Luna y Cielo children and caregivers were terrified,” Aguirre-Ávalos said.
She said one 3-year-old girl who witnessed the event now freezes every time she sees police lights.
Aguirre-Ávalos’ eyes filled with tears as she said she may have to close because families are now afraid to come to her business.
“Our days are filled with the constant hum of Black Hawk helicopters circling above, searching for people to abduct,” she said. “I am deeply worried about the trauma this is causing our children.”
Quigley said he and his colleagues in Illinois House Democratic Caucus are documenting “every illegal incident we know of here in Chicago.”
“While I’m sure that the Trump administration will do everything in its power to prevent a fair and independent investigation, it is still imperative that we make official complaints about these actions,” Quigley said. “When we retake the House, we’re going to launch every congressional investigation we have at our disposal.”
Quigley said he will call for a “significant reduction” in funding for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
Bovino Won’t Have To Report To Court Daily, Appeals Court Rules
A federal appeals court in Chicago ruled Friday that Border Chief Gregory Bovino is not required to make daily court appearances to make use-of-force reports to U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis.
The Tribune reported that the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Ellis’ order would put the court “in the position of an inquisitor rather than that of a neutral adjudicator” and that it would set her up as a “supervisor” of Bovino’s activities, infringing on the separation of powers.
Ellis, who is overseeing a lawsuit filed by Block Club and other organizations over federal immigration agents’ use of force, previously ordered Bovino to make daily reports after the actions of his agents throughout the month flouted a previous temporary restraining order.
Happening In Chicago
- At least two men, both U.S. citizens, were detained Friday morning by Border Patrol agents in Albany Park, witnesses and friends of the men told Block Club
- There were ICE and Border Patrol sightings in Albany Park on Lawrence Avenue between Central Park and California Avenues, according to Northwest Side Rapid Response
- An “ICE Out Of Chicago” march is planned for 1 p.m. Saturday at Kelly Park, 2725 W. 41st St., according to organizers with the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council and Southwest Rapid Response
Other Local Immigration Coverage
- Teen Cancer Patient Reunites With Father After His Release From ICE Detention: Ruben Torres Maldonado returned home to his family Thursday, ending two weeks of heartbreak for his teenage daughter, Ofelia Torres, who has stage 4 cancer.
- Lawsuit Alleges ‘Horrific And Inhumane’ Conditions At Broadview ICE Facility: The federal lawsuit says detained people are being denied water, food, medical care and hygiene: “They treated us like animals, or worse than animals, because no one treats their pets like that.”
- Immigration Agents Detained A Schizophrenic Man — Then Dropped Him Miles From Home: The arrest of the legal U.S. resident sent his family scrambling for two weeks. And they say immigration authorities refused to answer any questions about where he was. Community members on social media helped his family find him.
- Lake View High Cross Country Team Fights For State Title As ICE Targets Their Community: The boys team, made up largely of Mexican Americans, is chasing a rare state championship while their community faces fear and uncertainty.
- As ICE Targets Home Depot Stores, Advocates Say Company Is Failing To Protect Day Laborers: Federal agents have frequently detained people around Home Depot stores in the Chicago area. Organizers and neighbors are calling on the company to “keep ICE out” with planned vigils and calls for a boycott.
- FROM THE SUN-TIMES: ICE Has Powerful Facial Recognition App Illinois Cops Are Barred From Using — With Little Apparent Oversight: The administration has contracts with Clearview AI, a firm banned from doing business with Illinois police agencies. “This is what dystopian nightmares are made of, this kind of continual expansion of surveillance without any real oversight or restrictions,” says Jeramie Scott of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
- FROM THE SUN-TIMES: IDs Are Mismatched, Illegible Or Still Missing 3 Weeks After Judge’s Order To Immigration Officers: In dozens of photographs at four locations, Chicago Sun-Times photojournalists documented federal officers failing to wear the “visible identification” needed to hold individuals accountable during the ongoing immigration “blitz.”
- FROM THE SUN-TIMES: Chicago Sun-Times Demands DHS Remove Social Posts Using Its Photos Without Permission: A letter sent to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Thursday says the government used three Sun-Times photos without permission to promote its immigration enforcement campaign. The newspaper threatened to file an intellectual property right infringement lawsuit if the posts aren’t taken down.
- FROM THE SUN-TIMES: 130 Illinois Officials ‘Stand With’ 6 Charged By Feds For Broadview Protest: The signees say the charges follow a “disturbing national pattern” that includes charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI Director James Comey, as well as “dozens of others who have challenged the Trump administration.”
- FROM THE TRIBUNE: Chicagoland Neighbors Pull Together To Grapple With Halloween ICE Fears And SNAP Cuts: With both the Trump administration’s now monthslong local mass deportation mission and the impending loss of federal food aid looming over the city and suburbs, the Chicago area is celebrating Halloween more cautiously this year.
- FROM THE TRIBUNE: Illinois Lawmakers Pass Bill To Tackle Constitutional Violations In Immigration Raids, Ban Courthouse Arrests: Amid increased public calls for Illinois elected officials to more strongly push back against the Trump administration’s sometimes-violent crackdown on immigrants in the Chicago region, the Illinois General Assembly early Friday passed a bill to formally ban federal agents from arresting people near courthouses and allowing lawsuits if individuals’ rights have been violated in civil immigration arrests.
- FROM THE TRIBUNE: Border Patrol Agents Use Taser And Arrest Man Following Crash In O’Hare Parking Lot: Border Patrol agents conducting yet another raid on an O’Hare International Airport parking lot for rideshare drivers Thursday evening tasered and arrested a man whom they accused of ramming their vehicle as he tried to get away, according to a police report obtained by the Tribune.
- FROM WBEZ: DHS Has Arrested People Filming Their Agents, And Sens. Duckworth, Durbin Say Those Arrests Must Stop: In a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the senators demand that she keep federal agents from arresting people who are simply exercising “a core First Amendment right.”
- FROM FOX32: Broadview Police Remove ICE Protesters’ ‘Yes We Canopy’ Tent: Protesters at the Broadview ICE facility in Chicago’s western suburbs refused to take down their “Yes We Canopy” tent despite being ordered by the village to do so. Broadview police took the canopy down around 7 p.m. Thursday evening.
Happening In The Suburbs
- Agents were seen Friday in Evanston and Skokie, according to neighborhood group Protect Rogers Park. A video from Evanston Friday show federal agents handcuffing a landscaper before releasing him after he says he’s a U.S. citizen. “My apologies,” a federal agent says. “We have so many people running stuff at the same time.” Another video from Evanston shows agents detaining and pressing a man against the ground as he tells him he can’t breathe and a crowd forms. Get more coverage from Evanston here.
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