CHICAGO, IL — Today marks one year since Donald Trump announced Operation Midway Blitz, where he sent ICE and CBP to attack Illinois communities and tear families apart.
On this anniversary, Governor JB Pritzker published a Substack article highlighting the devastating impacts of the federal government’s attacks against Illinois families and what he’s done to fight back.
Gov. Pritzker detailed the cruelty of Trump’s masked federal agents: “The agents tear-gassed people on the street. They used chemical weapons against civilians more than 60 separate times. In Chicago, they shot Marimar Martinez, a US citizen and schoolteacher, five times. The Department of Homeland Security lied about the incident and said Martinez provoked the confrontation, but body camera footage proved that claim completely false. They also murdered Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, a father of two who had no criminal record, after he had dropped off his two children at school.”
Gov. Pritzker called out ICE and CBP for violating the law and people’s rights: “Immigration agents conducted almost all of these arrests without judicial warrants, and dozens of them were later ruled illegal. They made arrests based not on reputable information about people’s suspected criminal activity, but on their race, their accent, and the language they spoke. In fact, 85% of those who were arrested had no criminal convictions.”
Gov. Pritzker made clear that Illinois is fighting back and Illinoisans remain undeterred: “And while the Trump administration is protecting its masked agents who terrorized Chicago, the next administration still has every obligation to prosecute their wrongdoing. The state of Illinois has collected troves of evidence — and we will help hold these criminals accountable. Operation Midway Blitz was Trump’s attempt to break our resolve and make us feel powerless before his might. He failed. We stood up for our neighbors and showed the world the strength and greatness of our people.”
Read the full piece below:
JB Pritzker | Substack: One Year Since Operation Midway Blitz
One year ago today, hundreds of masked federal agents driving unmarked vehicles and carrying automatic weapons descended on our state and conducted an unprecedented invasion intended to terrorize our communities, violating people’s most fundamental rights and traumatizing innocent Illinois residents.
It’s hard to adequately describe the cruelty and violence of the attacks.
Federal agents broke into the homes of US citizens and legal residents in the middle of the night and made hundreds of unwarranted arrests. Some victims reported that they were dragged out of their beds while undressed and were then bound with zip-ties.
The agents arrested people near schools and daycares, leaving many Illinoisans too afraid to even go outside. Student attendance plummeted. Small businesses serving predominantly Latino communities lost up to 50% in revenue. People made fewer calls to 911 because even seeking medical care seemed too risky.
The agents tear-gassed people on the street. They used chemical weapons against civilians more than 60 separate times. In Chicago, they shot Marimar Martinez, a US citizen and schoolteacher, five times. The Department of Homeland Security lied about the incident and said Martinez provoked the confrontation, but body camera footage proved that claim completely false. They also murdered Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, a father of two who had no criminal record, after he had dropped off his two children at school.
And their cruelty extended far beyond Chicago.
After their arrests, detainees were sent to prisons around the country — usually given little to no information about their cases — where they often faced inhumane detention conditions.
Immigration agents conducted almost all of these arrests without judicial warrants, and dozens of them were later ruled illegal. They made arrests based not on reputable information about people’s suspected criminal activity, but on their race, their accent, and the language they spoke. In fact, 85% of those who were arrested had no criminal convictions.
Here we are, one year later, and not a single agent has been held accountable for their crimes. One even got promoted.
Donald Trump and his administration have attacked the people of Illinois, violated our rights, and broken Illinois law, and they are using the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause to protect their marauding federal agents from prosecution. We don’t intend to let them get away with it.
In October 2025, just over a month after Operation Midway Blitz began, I established the Illinois Accountability Commission. This panel of legal experts documented the abuses federal agents were committing, found probable cause that they violated Illinois law, and recommended the perpetrators be investigated for prosecution. The evidence has also been used to help citizens file lawsuits against those agents.
The Illinois General Assembly and I also enacted legislation that bars federal agents from arresting anyone inside or within 1,000 feet of a courthouse and empowers Illinoisans to sue any immigration agent who violates a person’s right to due process.
One year after the launch of Operation Midway Blitz, amid the depravity of this presidency, it can be hard to find reasons for hope. But if anything from the past year has given me optimism for the fight ahead, it is the way my fellow Illinoisans showed up for each other during this attack.
When immigrant parents were too afraid to leave their homes, neighbors walked their children to school and made sure they arrived safely.
People taught each other how to spot ICE agents and held “Know Your Rights” educational sessions.
Neighbors resorted to forming human chains to help people fearful of ICE attend Sunday church services so they could worship in peace.
They attended peaceful protests against ICE, donated to mutual aid funds, and mobilized to shop at immigrant-owned businesses that were suffering.
Observers recorded video of neighborhood ICE raids to make sure agents could not get away with lying about what was happening.
For many people, these acts of resistance against ICE were the first moments of political activism in their lives.
Illinoisans’ powerful rejection of human rights abuses confirmed for me how prepared we are for what lies ahead.
Under color of law, Donald Trump and his agents have been committing one of the most brazen attacks on our constitutional republic in modern history. Operation Midway Blitz was just one part of that. And they think they can get away with it in the November elections. Illinois is here to tell them: they can’t and won’t.
During last year’s horrible and traumatic period, we showed the nation: collectively, Americans have the power to stop Trump and his abuses.
We drove ICE agents out of our state.
Illinois defeated Trump in the courts, preventing him from sending military troops into our states.
And while the Trump administration is protecting its masked agents who terrorized Chicago, the next administration still has every obligation to prosecute their wrongdoing. The state of Illinois has collected troves of evidence — and we will help hold these criminals accountable.
Operation Midway Blitz was Trump’s attempt to break our resolve and make us feel powerless before his might. He failed. We stood up for our neighbors and showed the world the strength and greatness of our people.
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CONTACT: press@jbpritzkercampaign.com