Border Patrol officers detained 11 people Saturday at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport rideshare parking lot after witnesses say agents showed up and began asking people for identification.
Federal agents twice blocked the exit from the lot where Uber and Lyft drivers — often coming from immigrant backgrounds — wait to pick up riders.
The agents came to the lot around 9:30 a.m. and again around 1 p.m. Saturday, witnesses told NBC Chicago.
There is only one way in and one way out of the rideshare lot at O’Hare, meaning many drivers were questioned by Border Patrol agents.
Videos obtained by NBC Chicago from witnesses of the operation showed exits from the lot blocked by numerous masked federal agents.
“They asked for my ID three times, they came to us and asked if you were a citizen,” one woman, a U.S. citizen, said. She added that it did not appear to her that the agents were looking for anybody specific.
However, DHS claimed the operation was “targeted” in a statement sent to NBC Chicago.
“Border Patrol conducted a targeted operation near Chicago O’Hare airport parking lots that resulted in the arrest of 11 illegal aliens from Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Mongolia, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and Venezuela. Criminal histories among those arrested include domestic battery, DUI, visa overstay and a final order of removal.”
The operation happened on the same day as thousands gathered across the Chicago area for “No Kings” protests against the Trump administration and the recent ramp-up of immigration enforcement in the region.
“These drivers are all hardworking guys,” one driver said, adding that many in the industry are “scared right now.”
Some longtime rideshare drivers told NBC Chicago they believe the action at O’Hare was too broad.
“If they’re really going for hard criminals go strictly for them, not going all over the place grabbing people from left and right,” one driver said.
The raid comes despite efforts from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Cook County Board of Commissioners President Toni Preckwinkle to establish ‘ICE-free’ zones on city- and county-controlled property.
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