Most of Illinois’ Democratic congressional delegation on Friday called for investigations of the Trump administration’s surge of immigration enforcement in Chicago, which has led to two fatal shootings, violent responses to protests, unlawful detentions of citizens — and scant details about the scores of residents who have been arrested.
Twelve Illinois Democrats sent a letter requesting probes by two top federal government watchdogs into Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities in the Chicago area and other Department of Homeland Security authorities after a chaotic month of raids.
They highlighted the Sept. 12 killing of Silverio Villegas González by ICE agents during a Franklin Park traffic stop. DHS officials claimed one of the agents had been “seriously injured” when González tried to take off, but local police body-worn camera video obtained by the Sun-Times later revealed the agent himself said his injury was “nothing major.”
Body-camera footage has also raised questions about the federal narrative of a Border Patrol agent who shot a woman five times last week — purportedly because she drove toward officers, a claim her attorney says is contradicted by video evidence.
Illinois Democrats — including U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Delia Ramirez, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Brad Schneider and Danny Davis — also want answers on a military-style raid of a South Shore apartment building that resulted in citizens being detained.
“These incidents, among numerous others, and the recent deployment of National Guard Troops leave us feeling deeply concerned about the lack of transparency and oversight within DHS and their immigration enforcement tactics,” the representatives wrote to the inspectors general of the departments of Justice and Homeland Security.
Also signing the letter were U.S. Reps. Jonathan Jackson, Bill Foster, Jan Schakowsky, Sean Casten, Eric Sorensen and Mike Quigley.
Representatives for the offices of inspector general couldn’t immediately be reached amid the ongoing federal government shutdown due to a budget impasse in Congress.
DHS officials said they had arrested more than 800 people in “Operation Midway Blitz” as of Oct. 1 but have not released details on most of those taken into custody.
U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, both Illinois Democrats, on Friday requested a tour of the Broadview ICE facility that has drawn heated protests for weeks, but they were denied entry.
“There’s something going on in there they don’t want the public to see,” Durbin said.