State law enforcement officers in Illinois have been involved in arrests of protesters outside the ICE processing center in Broadview, a suburb of Chicago, following multiple days of heightened confrontations. The deployment of state police to assist federal agencies reflects escalating tensions over immigration enforcement in the Chicago area.
According to Reuters, clashes broke out between protesters and law enforcement, leading to several arrests. Illinois State Police were reported to be among the forces making arrests in coordination with ICE and federal agents.
The protests have been linked to Operation Midway Blitz, a Trump administration initiative to increase immigration enforcement in the region.
In public statements, President Donald Trump has blamed local and state officials for failing to protect ICE officers and has characterized the unrest as a failure of local leadership to maintain order.
Local officials, including Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, have challenged federal steps to deploy forces into Chicago and filed legal actions to block National Guard deployment.
The situation remains volatile as legal challenges proceed, and the use of state troopers in arrests marks an intensification of federal-local cooperation in enforcing immigration law in one of the country’s largest cities.
