A shocking incident unfolded in Chicago [in the early hours of September 30] when about 300 ICE agents descended from Blackhawk helicopters onto an apartment building, rounding up everyone living there. Many residents, according to witnesses, were pulled outside in zip ties, wearing little or no clothing, and children were among those caught up in this mass operation. With President Trump reportedly obtaining direct authority to deploy armed federal agents in Chicago, the move feels like an extension of what he has described as a war on blue states and cities, making the event feel as if it were ripped from a dystopian novel.
Across the country, these federal raids are being viewed as part of an escalating campaign to assert central power over communities that do not support the administration. The use of military tactics in domestic spaces looks less like a law enforcement effort and more like an outright attack on places that tend to vote Democratic. For many, the message is clear: cities that disagree with the current administration are being singled out for intimidation and collective punishment.
Perhaps the most alarming aspect is the deafening silence from major national media outlets. Instead of launching investigations or demanding accountability, mainstream networks have focused their energy on profit driven mergers and tax schemes to benefit their wealthy CEOS. That leaves local communities bearing the full weight of unchecked federal power and everyday people more vulnerable, as the role of the media as the public’s watchdog is abandoned.
Below is a 13-minute video by The Guardian, described as follows: “In the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk killing, Oliver Laughland and Tom Silverstone head to Chicago, where Donald Trump’s ICE deployment, codename Operation Midway Blitz, has been met by a defiant wave of sustained protests at the Broadview ICE facility.”
Related Off-site Links:
“Surreal Moment for America”: ICE Agents in Chicago Drag Children Out of Their Homes, Ransack Building – Brad Reed (Common Dreams, October 2, 2025).
Federal Agents Conduct “Targeted Immigration Operation” in South Shore – NBC Chicago (September 30, 2025).
ICE Agents Raid South Shore Apartment Building: “They Just Treated Us Like We Were Nothing” – ABC 7 Chicago (September 30, 2025).
When Trump’s ICE Invades Your City: An Interview with Jordan Chariton – Thom Hartmann Program (October 1, 2025).
The “Moral Monsters” Among Us – Adrian Carrasquillo (The Bulwark, October 1, 2025).
“F*ck Them Kids”: ICE Agents Drag Children Out of Bed, Ransack Chicago Building – Chris Hayes (MSNBC, October 2, 2025).
ICE Is Terrorizing Chicago. We Can Stand Up To Them – Kat Abughazaleh (via YouTube, October 1, 2025).
Chicago Activist on Organizing Community ICE Patrols as Trump Escalates Immigration Crackdown – Democracy Now! (September 30, 2025).
ICE Violence Is Out of Control – The Majority Report (September 27, 2025).
UPDATES: Protesters Clash with Federal Agents in Chicago as ICE Raids Continue – ABC News (October 3, 2025).
When ICE Deports Every Immigrant, Will Trump Aim Their Crosshairs at You? – Thom Hartmann Program (October 3, 2025).
See also the following chronologically-ordered Wild Reed posts:
• Marisa Kabas: “We’re Witnessing a Coup By an Unelected Billionaire Propped Up By a Felonious President”
• Timothy Snyder on Resisting the Oligarchs’ “Logic of Destruction”
• “This Is Essentially Viktor Orbán’s Playbook”
• “An Extremely Clever Ruse” by and for the Rich: Owen Jones on Elon Musk’s Coup
• “To Be a Rib in This Body of Our Country”
• Quote of the Day – February 21, 2025
• Ralph Nader: “We’re Heading Into the Most Serious Crisis in American History. There’s No Comparison”
• Why the Democratic Party Is Not Going to Save Us From Fascism
• “This Is How Democracy Unravels”
• Jason Stanley on How Fascism Works
• James Greenberg on Trumpism: “The Tactics Are Unmistakable”
• Tony Pentimalli on Trump’s “Death Warrant for Democracy”
• “This Is What Fascism Looks Like”
• Peter Bloom: Quote of the Day – June 10, 2025
• “Protesting Is What Patriotism Looks Like in Public”: The “No Kings” Protests of June 14, 2025
• “No Kings”? Absolutely. But Also “No Oligarchy”
• Marianne Williamson: Quote of the Day – June 20, 2025
• Rep. Ro Khanna: Quote of the Day – June 24, 2025
• “This Is Fascism”
• The Declaration of Resistance
• The Choice Before Us
• Marianne Williamson: Quote of the Day – July 26, 2025
• How Democrats Can Start Winning Again
• Brent Molnar on the MAGA Cult and Its Intentions
• James Greenberg: “The Choices We Make Matter”
• Brent Molnar on the “Cold War in Our Own House”
• Khalil Gibran Muhammad on Donald Trump’s Militarization of Law Enforcement
• Jason Duchin: “It’s Here, and We Are Sleepwalking Through It”
• Marianne Williamson: “We’re Moving Into Totalitarianism”
• Garrett Graff: “America Tips Into Fascism”
• Bowing to an Idol
• Marianne Williamson on the Need for “Radical Love” in Responding to Trump’s Dismantling of Democracy
• Brent Molnar on the the Silencing of Jimmy Kimmel: “This Is What Fascism Looks Like in Practice”
• James Greenberg on the Identity Politics of MAGA
• Staying Strong in Trump’s Fascist America
• Memes of the Times – September 2025
• Jason Duchin: Quote of the Day – September 24, 2025
• Derek Johnson on the “Courage to Call Fascism by Its Name”
• Will Potter on Trump’s War on Dissent: “This Is What Fascists Do”
Image: Federal law enforcement agents confront demonstrators protesting outside of an immigrant processing center on September 27, 2025 in Broadview, Illinois. The demonstrators were protesting a recent surge in ICE apprehensions in the Chicago area, part of a push by the Trump administration dubbed Operation Midway Blitz. (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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