The FAA has established an unusually extensive and prolonged temporary flight restriction (TFR) for drones operating over downtown Chicago<\/a>, at a time when federal law enforcement agents are ramping up immigration raids throughout the city.<\/p>\n Citing \u201cspecial security reasons\u201d the agency issued the TFR on October 1. The restrictions, which went into effect immediately, are not scheduled to expire until October 12.<\/p>\n The TFR, which covers a large segment of the Chicago\u2019s central business district, has a radius of 15 nautical miles, and covers the airspace from the surface up to and including 400 above ground level. No UAS operations are allowed within the area covered by the TRF, with the following exceptions:<\/p>\n In order to receive approval to fly commercial within the TFR area, UAS operators must be in possession of an approved special governmental interest (SGI) airspace waiver and comply with all other applicable federal aviation regulations.<\/p>\n The TFR warns that UAS operators who do not comply with the applicable airspace restrictions are subject to severe penalties. \u201cThe Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or the Department of Justice (DOJ) may take security action that results in the interference, disruption, seizure, damaging or destruction of unmanned aircraft deemed to pose a credible safety or security threat.\u201d<\/p>\n However, despite that threat, the DHS and DOJ recently lost the legal authority to disable drones in flight when Congress failed to pass<\/a> a continuing resolution that would have reauthorized that authority. The failure of Congress to pass the CR also subsequently led to a government shutdown.<\/p>\n Although the FAA did not provide a detailed reason for issuing the TFR, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a part of DHR, said in a statement that it had requested the drone restrictions, \u201cdue to a credible threat of small, unmanned aircraft systems being used against law enforcement during Midway Blitz.\u201d Midway Blitz is the codename for the department\u2019s controversial policy of conducting massive immigration raids in the Chicago area.<\/p>\n While TFRs are routinely issued to restrict the use of the airspace surrounding major events, such as the Superbowl or presidential visits, drone operators and civil liberties advocates have questioned the appropriateness of issuing such a sweeping TFR in support of a law enforcement operation. They\u2019ve cited the extent of the physical area of the TFR, its duration and the lack of advance notice given to UAV pilots.<\/p>\n Troy Walsh, owner of Drone Media Chicago<\/a>, an aerial video and photography company, said the TRF was \u201cunprecedented\u201d in its reach.<\/p>\n \u201cAs commercial pilots and even hobbyists it\u2019s our responsibility to be aware of what airspace we\u2019re flying in and if there are temporary flight restrictions,\u201d he said in an interview.<\/p>\n Commercial drone operators are used to having the FAA issue TFRs in advance of big Major League Baseball games or special events such as the Chicago Marathon. However, Walsh said those restrictions usually are publicized well in advance of the event and are of relatively short durations. This allows the operators to inform their clients of the constraints the operator is facing and to plan their schedules around the TFR.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, this one is unique in the sense where pretty much we weren\u2019t really given any notice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cTypically, a TFR will go into place for possibly a couple of hours during the day. You might get another TFR the following day but usually the TFR will be relieved after the event is concluded,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then once it (the current TFR) went into effect, it was continuous. So, a 24-hour TFR for a length of 12 days. That\u2019s unprecedented.\u201d<\/p>\n The size of the area under the TFR, about 935 square miles, is also unusual, Walsh said. A typical TFR will be issued for a radius of about three nautical miles, which is about three and a half standard miles, he said. \u201cThis one is 15 nautical miles. We only really see those for pretty rare events, like if the president is in town or if there\u2019s special VIP movement in the area.\u201d<\/p>\n Walsh said he expects that the TFR will have a significant impact on drone-oriented businesses such as his. \u201cTFRs are usually an inconvenience. I\u2019d say this is more of a direct, sustainable impact for the next couple of weeks, because if you\u2019re using drones for a commercial purpose, it\u2019s the same as your storefront being closed for almost two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n Other critics pointed to the potential for federal authorities to misuse the expansive TRF to ground drones that might otherwise be used to report on their activities.<\/p>\n In a post on the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) website, Jay Stanley, an ACLU senior policy analyst questioned the government\u2019s rationale for imposing restrictions on virtually all non-governmental drone flights in the region. While DHS contends that it sought the TFR to safeguard its own drone operations, Stanley said he is especially concerned that the federal law enforcement agencies might instead use the TFR as a pretext to shield their operations from public scrutiny.<\/p>\n \u201cLaw enforcement can use its own aerial operations as a stratagem to prevent reporters (including private individuals acting as reporters) from recording newsworthy public gatherings,\u201d he wrote. \u201cWe can\u2019t give government the power to block drone photography of newsworthy events simply by claiming a need to fly their own aircraft in an area or claiming the existence of vague \u2018security threats.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Read more:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. \u00a0Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies. TWITTER:@spaldingbarker<\/a><\/p>\n Subscribe to DroneLife here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
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Jim Magill is a Houston-based writer with almost a quarter-century of experience covering technical and economic developments in the oil and gas industry. After retiring in December 2019 as a senior editor with S&P Global Platts, Jim began writing about emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robots and drones, and the ways in which they\u2019re contributing to our society. In addition to DroneLife, Jim is a contributor to Forbes.com and his work has appeared in the Houston Chronicle, U.S. News & World Report, and Unmanned Systems, a publication of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle\u00a0Systems International.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Miriam-McNabb-headshot-scaled.jpg\")
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For drone industry consulting or writing,\u00a0Email Miriam<\/a>.<\/p>\n