Chicago residents described the shocking experience following a late-night ICE raid on Tuesday, during which children were dragged out of their beds as the apartment complex was ransacked
A Chicago community is reeling following a late-night immigration raid on a South Side apartment complex.
Over 300 armed federal agents swarmed a five-story apartment complex late Tuesday evening in what became an hours-long immigration raid.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, alongside the FBI and U.S. Border Patrol agents, were targeting over 30 suspected members of the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said 37 people were arrested.
Federal agents were seen rappelling from a Black Hawk helicopter on top of the building.
“My building is shaking. So, I’m like, ‘What is that?’ Then I look out the window, it’s a Blackhawk helicopter,” witness Dr. Alii Muhammad told ABC7 Chicago.
Residents said they ducked for cover as they heard several flash bangs go off, reports MSNBC.
One resident described the experience as “terrifying.”
“It was terrifying. The kids was crying. People were screaming. They were very distraught. I was out there crying when I seen the little girl come around the corner because they were bringing the kids out too, they had them zip-tied together,” said resident Eboni Watson to ABC7 Chicago.
“It was scary because I never had a gun put in my face,” another resident told the outlet.
Although the raid was aimed at detaining the suspected gang members, many residents say that U.S. citizens and children were swept into the mix.
Watson told the outlet that trucks and military-style vans were used to separate parents from their children. Other neighbors said agents destroyed property to get in the building, with doors blown off their hinges and holes in the wall, reports ABC7 Chicago.
According to MSNBC, dozens of residents were pulled from their homes in zip ties, including children. Residents were detained and held for hours, and cops told them that if they had any unrelated warrants, they would not be returning to their residences.
The raid on the apartment complex comes as Chicago residents have continuously staged protests against increased immigration enforcement activity in downtown Chicago. U.S. President Donald Trump previously vowed to deploy National Guard Troops to fight crime in Chicago, mirroring his current approach in Washington, D.C.
Beginning on Sept. 9, the Trump administration sent ICE to the city through Operation Midway Blitz. The U.S. The DHS launched the operation, which focuses on individuals in the country without legal status who also have criminal records or pending charges.
On Tuesday, during a massive military meeting at the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Virginia, Trump declared that Chicago is one of many Democratic cities that should be used as a “training ground” for the U.S. military.
https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/ice-agents-drag-children-bed-36011822