One year ago today, President Donald Trump’s administration sent hundreds of immigration agents into Chicago area communities with the stated goal of arresting and deporting immigrants who they accused of committing crimes.
The surge at times felt like a siege. The deportation campaign was one that residents could see, hear and feel.
Helicopters hovered overhead for hours. Unmarked SUVs — sometimes without license plates — patrolled the streets, full of agents in military-style clothes. Neighbors’ whistles and family members’ screams became an unwanted daily soundtrack.
While the signs of the chaos dissipated once Operation Midway Blitz winded down, remnants are still visible throughout the city and suburbs, marking the ways in which some communities remain scarred.
The Chicago Sun-Times photo staff captured some of those vestiges leading up to the year anniversary of when it all started.
Warning: This post displays some images that include profanity or offensive language.
A roadside memorial dedicated to Silverio Villegas González stands Aug. 20 along Grand Avenue near Emerson Street in Franklin Park. Villegas González was fatally shot Sept. 12, 2025, by a federal immigration enforcement agent near the intersection.
Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
A roadside memorial dedicated to Silverio Villegas González stands Aug. 20 along Grand Avenue near Emerson Street in Franklin Park. Villegas González was fatally shot Sept. 12, 2025, by a federal immigration enforcement agent near the intersection.
Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
A roadside memorial dedicated to Silverio Villegas González stands Aug. 20 along Grand Avenue near Emerson Street in Franklin Park. Villegas González was fatally shot Sept. 12, 2025, by a federal immigration enforcement agent near the intersection.
Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
A basket of whistles sits by the entrance at Roam hair salon in North Center, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
Owner Mara Contino wears a whistle at Roam hair salon in North Center, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. Contino has been wearing the whistle since the beginning of Operation Midway Blitz last fall.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
A basket of whistles sits by the entrance at Roam hair salon in North Center, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
The windows and front door remain boarded up at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
A TransCor America (TCA) staff member leaves the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. The facility is the regional staging area for TCA, a nationwide prisoner and detainee transportation company.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
A surveillance camera is stationed outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. Protesters gathered outside the facility during Operation Midway Blitz.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
Anti-ICE stickers cover the back of a stop sign outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
“PIGS” is spray painted on the street outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
Barricades line the designated protest and media area outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
Discarded protest signs lie on the ground outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
The “Broadview Strong” water tower is visible in the distance from outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
Larry Mondragon, owner of Definitive Selection, adjusts a “F— ICE” graphic T-shirt on display inside his Pilsen neigborhood shop on Aug. 27.
Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
Protest posters reading “ICE OUT! ¡Fuera ICE!” and supporting a school board candidate are seen Aug. 27 taped inside a residential window in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago.
Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
A person walks a dog past a mural protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Aug. 27 in Pilsen.
Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
A pedestrian walks past a vacant commercial storefront displaying a handmade “ICE OUT OF CHICAGO” sign in the window Aug. 27 in Pilsen.
Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
Protest signs supporting immigrant rights, sanctuary cities, and Palestinian solidarity fill the front windows of the office of Pilsen Alliance, a grassroots community organization at 1744 W. 18th St. in Pilsen on Aug. 27.
Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
Larry Mondragon, owner of Definitive Selection in Pilsen, holds a handmade sign reading “IMMIGRANTS MAKE AMERICA GREAT” inside his shop on Aug. 27.
Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
Larry Mondragon holds up a black baseball cap featuring colorful embroidery reading “F— ICE” inside his shop, Definitive Selection, in Pilsen on Aug. 27.
Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
Graffiti on a viaduct wall in Pilsen depicts a dog wearing a superhero cape urinating on an ICE officer, captioned “Meanwhile in Chicago…” and “Good Boy!” on Aug. 27.
Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
An anti ICE poster at Pinwheel Records at 1459 W. 18th St. in Pilsen, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
A person walks a dog on Aug. 24 down an alley near Haas Park in Logan Square, past graffiti reading “Kill ICE,” scrawled along a brick wall.
Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
Anti ICE signs on the door of Luciano’s Grocery Store at 1712 W. 18th St. in Pilsen, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
‘No federal agents’ sign on the window of Chela’s Gift Shop at 1512 W. 18th St. in Pilsen, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Signs listing community resources for immigrants at the Lozano Chicago Public Library at 1805 S. Loomis St. in Pilsen, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
An “ICE OUT!” sign is taped on the window of a home along the 2600 block of Kedzie Avenue in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
An “I KNOW MY RIGHTS” sign is taped on the door of a home along the 2600 block of Kedzie Avenue in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
A flyer is taped on the door of a business along West 26th Street in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
A sign in support of Silverio Villegas González is taped on the window of State Rep. Edgar Gonzalez Jr.’s office in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. González was shot and killed by an ICE officer last September during a traffic stop in Franklin Park.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
A “No Trespassing” notice is taped on the door of a business along West 26th Street in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
A “No Trespassing” notice sits in the window of a business along West 26th Street in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
A “Free Whistles” sign is taped to the window of the Little Village Community Council office on the Southwest Side, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026.
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