Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth on Thursday submitted a criminal referral to the Justice Department over alleged constitutional violations — including warrantless arrests and the use of excessive force — by federal immigration agents during Operation Midway Blitz.
They’re fully aware that President Donald Trump’s appointed attorney general, Pam Bondi, is unlikely to act on their request. But speaking on the Senate floor Thursday morning, Durbin noted, “the statute of limitations for these provisions is five years.”
“Many Trump administration officials have been posting and quoting about their clear violations of constitutional rights. While President Trump has given them carte blanche to violate the law, there is a reality ahead. One day, President Trump will not be in the White House. When he goes, those who ordered these lawful activities finally may be held accountable and prosecuted… The next administration will be well within its rights to hold accountable anyone who violated an individual’s constitutional rights or directed others to do so during this Trump administration.”
The senators are focusing on a federal statute known as Deprivation of Rights Under Color Of Law, which makes it a federal crime to deprive rights, privileges or immunities that are protected under the U.S. Constitution or other federal laws.
“Anyone who willfully violates another person’s Fourth Amendment rights by engaging in warrantless arrest or use of excessive force under color of law may be held liable under Section 242,” the senators said.
In a letter to Bondi, the senators cited at least 50 documented instances of immigration agents breaking car windows, including agents cutting a lock, entering private property and pepper-spraying and body-slamming four U.S. citizens at Concordia Cemetery in Forest Park. They also cite an Evanston incident in which agents pulled a citizen from his car and restrained him before punching him in his head. It’s unclear whether the Department of Homeland Security had warrants for any of those arrest, they write.
“During Operation Midway Blitz, federal immigration agents have violated the Fourth Amendment by conducting warrantless arrests and use of excessive force as they violently confront individuals, including U.S. citizens, during immigration enforcement operations,” the senators wrote to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. “They have shoved Chicagoans, including U.S. citizens, into unmarked vehicles, tased them, punched them, launched pepper balls at them, and tear gassed and shot them.”
They also cite instances of excessive force and the use of chemical agents, which have been well documented during Operation Midway Blitz. Those instances include tear gas and pepper balls deployed at reporters, clergy and protesters — which prompted a federal lawsuit.
The senators also allege federal immigration agents have unjustifiably used stun guns, including on a U.S. citizen who was hit in his face as an agent tried to forcibly open his car door.
“As you have previously noted, ‘No one is above the law.’” they write using Bondi’s own words. “We agree, and that’s why we urge the Department of Justice to set aside partisan politics and immediately investigate the potential violations of Section 242 outlined above.”
Durbin has also directed the Senate Judiciary Committee minority staff to gather evidence of potential constitutional and other federal law violations, and plans to provide evidence to the Justice Department.
Gov. JB Pritzker’s Illinois Accountability Commission, formed to try to document and rein in controversial raids stemming from the Trump administration’s Chicago area deportation campaign held its first public meeting Thursday.