Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has ICE agents literally raining from the sky.
Videos show Black Hawk helicopters flying above Chicago, where NewsNation reports ICE agents rappelled out of choppers onto an apartment building’s rooftop during an overnight raid against alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
The massive action—carried out in the early hours of Tuesday morning—was the largest to date as part of the so-called “Operation Midway Blitz,” said NewsNation’s Ali Bradley, who witnessed it on the ground.
Gregory Bovino, a U.S. Border Patrol commander-at-large, claimed that gang Tren de Aragua was operating inside the five-story apartment building on the city’s South Side that was raided. He told NewsNation that around 30 migrants were taken into custody, using his time in front of the camera also to assert that he is neither a “Nazi” nor is he in the “Gestapo.”
Footage captured by NewsNation showed dozens of agents approaching the building with flashlights, rifles, and pistols drawn.
Bovino said the operation-by-air proceeded “very smoothly,” adding that agents had spent several days training for the event. Bovino cautioned residents in the area to expect an increased federal presence moving forward, claiming that Tren de Aragua has been partaking in “trafficking, prostitution, drugs, and taking advantage of American citizens in a violent way.”
“Why won’t you live next to them and see how much of a Nazi or Gestapo we are,” he said.
NewsNation reported that some U.S. citizens—referred to as squatters—were awoken in the dead of night and detained during the raid, but were later released. ICE has justified the arrest of Americans by claiming it is necessary to protect them while a raid is carried out.
“It felt like we were under siege,” said the 63-year-old bystander, Darrell Ballard, who spoke to The New York Times.
An anonymous source in the U.S. Border Patrol told the Times that the raid involved 300 agents across various agencies. Citing the official, the Times wrote “that snipers rappelled down from helicopters on top of the apartment complex, as a precaution from potential violence.”
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the use of helicopters and whether they will be used again in the future. Reports elsewhere show that helicopters have been used previously this year to survey an area, but it is unclear if agents have previously used them to rappel onto rooftops.
Chicago, the country’s third-largest city, has become the latest flashpoint in Trump’s migrant crackdown. The city’s Democratic mayor, Brandon Johnson, and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, also a Democrat, have sharply condemned the actions in the city, and thousands of residents have taken to the streets in protest.
The Department of Homeland Security claims to have made 800 arrests in Chicago—a significantly higher figure than its earlier raids in the city, which included a failed operation in February involving 400 agents but netted only a single arrest.
However, the Trump administration has punted on its plan to target only migrants with criminal records in the United States, as it now goes after anyone undocumented, including those trying to make a living by accepting low-paying day jobs in Home Depot parking lots.
