Chicago ICE raid news today: Immigration agents violently detain several in Back of the Yards, Humboldt Park, witnesses say
There has been an increased presence of federal agents across much of Chicago Thursday.
In the Back of the Yards neighborhood, many people were around when at least five men were detained.
This comes as the Department of Homeland Security says it has made more than 900 arrests so far across Illinois in "Operation Midway Blitz."
There was also an immigration raid in Humboldt Park early Thursday morning. A woman says federal agents knocked down her front door.
She says her husband and two other men in the home were detained by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The woman says she is a migrant from Venezuela, and her family has been in the U.S. for three years now, as they've been going through the process of seeking asylum.
Federal operations continued in several other neighborhoods across the city.
People in the Back of the Yards neighborhood were recording on their phones, as ICE agents detained several people.
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One of those incidents happened near 47th Street and Marshfield Avenue, as video shows multiple men being detained and then taken away in vehicles.
"They're very disrespectful, slamming people to the ground, chasing after them and laughing. They looked at us and laughed," said Jesse Iniguez, owner of a Back of the Yards coffee shop.
Witnesses say the federal agents did not ask for documentation from the men that they detained.
They're also worried about the treatment these individuals are enduring in this process.
"They're human beings. Nobody should be treated like that. A lot of them are elderly people. It's like: That's someone's grandpa. That's someone's father; that's someone's brother," Leslie Cortes said.
DHS posted a statement on social media Thursday, saying, "to every criminal illegal alien: Darkness is no longer your ally. We will find you."
"These people are coming into our community, traumatizing, for what? Nobody they took are criminals," Iniguez said.
DHS did not immediately respond to a request for further details on Thursday's operations.
Local immigrant organizations said they are following the increased presence of federal agents across the city and urging people to know their rights when handling these situations.
