The Federal Aviation Administration has imposed unprecendented restrictions on unmanned drones across much of the Chicago area as federal law enforcement steps up its immigration arrests in and around the city.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security asked the FAA to set the sweeping 12-day restriction against private drone that started Wednesday, an FAA spokesperson said in a statement. An FAA alert on the restriction says the restrictions are for “special security reasons” without further explanation.
The restricted flying zone, which expires Oct. 12, covers a 15-nautical-mile radius emanating from Downtown Chicago, reaching as far north as suburban Winnetka, west beyond Interstate 294, and as far south as suburban Dolton.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection in a statement Thursday said it had requested the drone restrictions, “due to a credible threat of small, unmanned aircraft systems being used against law enforcement during Midway Blitz.”
“The Trump administration will utilize every tool to keep our law enforcement safe,” the agency added in a statement.
The FAA has issued similar drone restrictions in Portland, Oregon and in Los Angeles, cities where the Trump administration has deployed troops in response to the president’s claims about crime. But those no-drone zones were much smaller than the one set in Chicago.
The flight restriction in Chicago is vastly larger than the previous drone restrictions the FAA set in late September that covered a mile-wide area around a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in west suburban Broadview — the scene of several recent clashes between officers and demonstrators.
“I’ve been watching aviation for decades and don’t remember an action quite like this,” said Joseph Schwieterman, a transit expert and editor of DePaul University’s Issues in Aviation Law & Policy Journal.
“The FAA usually focuses on aviation safety matters, not ground-based law enforcement,” he said. “We may see more of these directives as drone technology gets better, but it’s still unsettling because it’s using federal regulations on an issue that has become highly politicized.”
The drone restrictions in Chicago were set the day after U.S. Border Patrol agents rappelled from Black Hawk military helicopters onto the roof of a South Shore apartment building, where federal authorities said they arrested more than 30 people, according to NewsNation. Residents of the building told the Sun-Times Wednesday that authorities also used drones in the operation.
Restrictions made without warning
Troy Walsh, owner of Drone Media Chicago, said the FAA typically gives a several-day warning before issuing drone flight restrictions that he can plan his video and photo shoots around. This one came without notice.
The new restrictions are also notable because they cover such a vast area, he said. Drone restriction zones are typically 3 to 5 miles. “This one is 15, which usually only happens if there’s president or VIP movement in the area,” Walsh said.
Commercial drone users can apply for waivers to use unmanned aircraft in the no-fly zone, Walsh said. But with the government shutdown happening, Walsh said he doesn’t expect to have any business until the restrictions expire. Much of his business depends on nice weather.
“Hopefully those leaves hang on longer than they usually do. It’s definitely a loss for our business,” Walsh said.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois blasted the flight restrictions as an apparent attempt by the Trump administration to limit the public and media’s ability to monitor federal immigration activity.
“When redressing claims of the use of excessive force and other abuses by ICE and other Administration agents, video footage gathered by individuals and the media has been crucial,” Edwin Yohnka, ACLU Illinois’ director of communications and public policy, said in a statement.
“This broad limitation over such a giant swath of the Chicagoland area suggests that ICE intends (as we recently saw) to use their own drones and helicopters for immigration enforcement action,” Yohnka said. “Using these military tactics without appropriate oversight and accountability is dangerous to the people targeted in these actions and the entire community.”