On Friday, nearly 20 House Democrats from Illinois and around the country heard testimony about how “Operation Midway Blitz” has impacted communities in Chicago.
The so-called “shadow hearing! was held in the County Building and, according to Rep. Pramila Jayapal, is the first of its kind held outside of Washington, D.C., but the fourth since President Donald Trump took office.
While the federal government remains shut down, lawmakers aimed to put a spotlight on what they say were abuses of power at the hands of the Trump administration.
Members heard from immigrant and refugee rights groups, faith leaders, and a 19-year-old named Genesis whose mother is a food vendor and was detained in Chicago. She remains in federal custody.
“Now that she has been taken from us, I am left to run everything she left behind by myself,” Genesis said during her testimony.
Another speaker was Pastor David Black of First Presbyterian Church, who was part of a group that sued the Department of Homeland Security after he was shot in the head with a pepper ball outside the ICE processing center in Broadview last month.
Speaking on that specific encounter, DHS said at the time “agitators were blocking an ICE vehicle from leaving the federal facility—impeding operations.” DHS went on to say “law enforcement verbally warned these agitators that they would use force if they did not move and stop impeding operations. They did not comply. Shortly after, rioters began throwing rocks, bottles and launching fireworks at the law enforcement officers on the roof.”
Black maintained he was simply praying that day.
A judge ruled in favor of Black and others, granting a Temporary Restraining Order and limiting federal agents’ use of chemical agents. Black said Friday he does not believe the TRO is being followed.
“We’ve seen that the federal administration has not been deterred at all from the use of chemical agents in our city streets,” he told NBC 5.
Following the hearing, lawmakers were joined by county and city leaders, including Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.
“This isn’t protection, this is intimidation,” Preckwinkle said of federal agents’ tactics in Chicago. Preckwinkle noted the executive order she signed prohibiting federal agents use of the County Building during immigration enforcement. Mayor Johnson signed a similar measure in the city of Chicago.
NBC 5 has reached out to DHS specifically about the hearing and hadn’t heard back as of Friday afternoon.
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