CHICAGO – A state-appointed panel in Illinois is urging local district attorneys to examine potential wrongdoing by federal immigration officers following last year’s intensive enforcement operations in the Chicago region.
The Illinois Accountability Commission, headed by former U.S. District Judge Rubén Castillo, released findings Thursday that detailed what the group characterized as systematic “unjustified and excessive force” and “indiscriminate use of chemical agents” by federal personnel.
After collecting witness statements and examining extensive court documents and news coverage, the commission called for additional scrutiny by Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke along with other local law enforcement officials and federal agencies capable of gathering more evidence.
The enforcement initiative, known as Operation Midway Blitz under the Trump administration, resulted in thousands of detentions and violent clashes between federal immigration officers and demonstrators. According to body camera recordings, agents fired shots at two individuals – killing one – while threatening to shoot additional people. Officers used tear gas, pepper projectiles and rubber bullets against protesters gathered outside an immigration detention facility in Broadview, Illinois, and throughout various Chicago communities.
The White House has not yet provided a response to requests for comment.
At Thursday’s press briefing, Judge Castillo referenced the shooting incident involving Marimar Martinez, an American citizen who teaches at a Montessori school in Oak Park, by Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum. “You would think that she was shot by some gang member on the South Side of Chicago. And she was. But guess what? That gang was Customs and Border Patrol. And the person who sent that gang to Illinois and to Chicago? Someone living on Pennsylvania Avenue in the White House,” Castillo said. Martinez recovered from her injuries and initially faced federal criminal charges in one of many cases that were subsequently dismissed.
