Chicago federal intervention: Tracking surge in immigration enforcement operations

The stepped up ICE activity on the North Side disrupting the school day at Burr Elementary and other schools as multiple arrests played out on nearby streets.

CPS parents and 32nd Ward Alderman Scott Waguespack confirmed a handful of schools in the Bucktown-Wicker Park area were placed on soft lockdown. That meant no outdoor recess, in response to ICE arrests in the neighborhood.

Chicago federal agent activity caused fear near multiple North Side schools. Also, feds detained a man in West Town and a Laugh Factory manager.

ABC7 obtained multiple videos from Bucktown-Wicker Park residents showing arrests in and around the neighborhood. At least one showed a gardener who a resident says was hired to plant a tree in her backyard. Another, according to a witness, involved the employee of a car dealership.

"The kids aren't playing outside because there's been a huge amount of ICE presence in the neighborhood, just driving up and down the streets, just kind of terrorizing the neighborhood," CPS parent Nicole Van Haperbeke said.

Alderman Waguespack says he's been inundated with messages and witnessed first hand ICE agents driving dangerously in the neighborhood.

"We saw them backing up into intersections where we've got daycare children walking across the street," Waguespack said. "You've got mothers with strollers. You've got a fun run right up here at St. Mary's, and they're driving without stopping at stop signs, blowing through alleys."

Wicker Park's A.N. Pritzker School also said it was on soft lockdown Friday, and all after-school programs, with the exception of Wicker Park Kids and Apollo, were canceled.

In light of the school lockdowns Mayor Brandon Johnson is urging Governor JB Pritzker to allow for a remote option for CPS students. That's something the state has to sign off on, but the governor says he's opposed to that idea because of the impact it could have on the students' education.

SEE ALSO | Some Chicago Board of Education members call for CPS remote learning amid immigration operations

Democratic members of Congress held a special hearing in Chicago on Friday to shine a spotlight on the enforcement tactics used by federal agents as part of "Operation Midway Blitz."

The "shadow hearing" included some powerful testimony from community members impacted by the raids. It was part fact-finding mission and part a show of solidarity among democrats who have from the beginning decried the way ICE and Border Patrol agents have carried out their immigration enforcement mission.

For weeks now, communities across the Chicagoland area have been responding to ICE agents targeting their neighborhoods, like Little Village, with large crowds trying to disrupt those efforts.

Protesters have frequently surrounded ICE vehicles and used cell phones to document what's happening, sometimes prompting agents to deploy tear gas to disperse crowds. That has happened despite a judge issuing a temporary restraining order limiting the use of chemical agents.

House democrats from across the country, including most from the Chicago region, held an unofficial immigration hearing to get testimony from impacted community members.

The Trump administration has said agents are going after violent criminals who are in illegally, but communities members said frequently not turned out to be the case.

Mayor Brandon Johnson later joined the members of Congress in a show of unity, thanking the congressional delegation for raising awareness of what's happening in Chicago.

"I'm grateful that you all are here to shed light today on Trump's unlawful and increasingly aggressive actions taken against our city and cities across America. What we heard today in the hearing was alarming stories of protesters being attacked, children being traumatized and communities living in fear," Johnson said. "Our standing here today, standing here proudly, unapologetically sends a very clear message to Donald Trump. Chicago will not be silent, we will not bend, we will not cower and we will certainly not break."

Among those testifying was a pastor, David Black with First Presbyterian Church Chicago, who was hit in the head with pepper balls while praying outside the ICE detention facility in Broadview.

"Temporary restraining order issued by Judge Sarah Ellis should be improving the conditions of those exercising their First Amendment right in Chicago Bovino and his henchmen are showing mocking contempt for the rule of law," Pastor Black said.

The committee members have already been in Chicago two days, talking to community groups gathering information and feedback. Before they return to Washington, they plan to meet with business groups and educators as well.

"May my colleagues take this conviction back, as we remind those in leadership in Congress that it is our moral responsibility to defend our communities," Rep. Delia Ramirez said. "The greatest threat to public safety in Chicago is ICE AND CBP. I think it's important we lift up just how out of control and unaccountable DHS is."

Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino was set to appear in court on Nov. 5, but now, a federal judge has ordered more than double the time to question Bovino after recent incidents involving federal agents.

Later Friday, Judge Sara Ellis ordered Bovino to testify in-person on Tuesday.

Laugh Factory posted on social media on Friday, saying the Lakeview comedy club's night manager was detained by "masked federal agents outside of the club."

The business posted footage of the incident to its Facebook account.

Chicago police said officers responded to a report of a battery at Belmont Avenue and Broadway just before 9:20 a.m.

Responding officers saw federal agents and two other individuals in a physical altercation, and a crowd had gathered in the area, police said.

Police said officers worked to deescalate and conduct crowd control. CPD did not make any arrests and left the scene once the area was cleared. Click here for more.