Gov. JB Pritzker is directing the state’s Department of Child and Family Services and the Department of Human Services to evaluate how children were treated during an aggressive immigration raid on a South Shore apartment building this week, he said in a Friday statement.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said federal agents with Border Patrol, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested at least 37 people in the raid, making it one of the largest operations executed since the start of “Operation Midway Blitz” on Sept. 8.
“Military-style tactics should never be used on children in a functioning democracy,” said the governor in the statement. “As more details emerge, I am appalled by the reports of excessive use of force against children as well as the many innocent bystanders who were punished simply for residing in that building.”
Pritzker said the two state agencies will contact families and children impacted by the raid to gather information. If they receive allegations of suspected abuse or neglect by federal agents, the governor said the state will move to hold the agents accountable, which could include “collaborating with local law enforcement as necessary.”
The agencies also will work with community partners to support the families and connect them to appropriate resources, Pritzker said.
The feds have said some of the 37 arrested Tuesday at the apartment building at 7500 S. South Shore Drive “are believed to be involved in drug trafficking and distribution, weapons crimes and immigration violators.”
They also claimed the neighborhood was “a location known to be frequented by Tren de Aragua members and their associates,” but gave no evidence to support the assertion. Authorities did not confirm that any of the people arrested were members of the Venezuelan gang.
One resident, a U.S. citizen, he said agents broke through his door and dragged him out in zip ties. A resident in the neighborhood said she saw agents dragging residents, including kids, out of the building without any clothes on and into U-Haul vans.
“Last night, ICE stormed the South Shore with armed raids that terrorized our community and shook our neighborhood,” said Democratic U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, whose district includes the apartment building, on X following the raid. “These reckless tactics don’t make us safer — they sow fear and distrust. Chicago deserves better.”
Brandon Lee, a spokesman for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, called the raid “a violent show of force in the middle of the night.”
Pritzker’s action comes after local officials launched three criminal investigations against federal agents over their interaction with protesters at ICE’s facility in Broadview.
“Imagine being a child awakened in the middle of the night by a Black Hawk helicopter landing in your neighborhood. Imagine an armed stranger forcibly removing you from your bed, zip-tying your hands, separating you from your family, and detaining you in a dark van for hours,” Pritzker said in the statement. “This didn’t happen in a country with an authoritarian regime — it happened here in Chicago.”