DHS Debunks Governor Pritzker’s Harmful Lies About Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago, Federal Law Enforcement

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker continues to spread the same lies and hateful rhetoric that have contributed to a more than 1000% increase in assaults against our brave ICE law enforcement

WASHINGTON - Between an appearance on CNN's State of the Union and a Monday afternoon press conference, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker repeatedly lied about federal law enforcement operations in Chicago.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is setting the record straight about Pritzker's lies and defending the brave men and women of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from his smears and slander.

"Our message to JB Pritzker: Get out of your mansion and see Chicago," said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. "If J.B. Pritzker actually walked the streets of his own city, he would see domestic terrorists and violent rioters attacking police officers and the scourge of violent crime as a direct result of his own policies."

A Smorgasbord of Lies

Below are just a few of the lies told by Governor Pritzker recently.

CLAIM: "This is an unconstitutional invasion of Illinois by the federal government. For weeks now, Donald Trump, Kristi Noem, and Gregory Bovino have brought their militarized CBP and ICE agents to the streets of Chicago to cause violence and chaos in this city."

REALITY: This is neither unconstitutional nor an invasion. President Trump has the authority under the Constitution to deploy troops, wherever they're stationed, to defend federal facilities from attacks. Whether it's the ICE facility in Broadview or the courthouse in Portland, we will defend federal property wherever they are under siege.

CLAIM: "They're raiding neighborhoods, where, instead of going after bad guys, they're just picking up people who are brown and black and then checking their credentials."

REALITY: Since Operation Midway Blitz began in Illinois last month, ICE and CBP officers have arrested more than 1,000 illegal aliens - including the worst of the worst pedophiles, child abusers, kidnappers, gang members, and armed robbers. We have also arrested multiple members of the gang Tren de Aragua, and illegal aliens with criminal histories that include drug trafficking, child rape, and murder, among other violent convictions.

Allegations that DHS law enforcement officers engage in "racial profiling" are disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE. What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S.-NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity. Under the fourth amendment of the U.S. Constitution, DHS law enforcement uses "reasonable suspicion" to make arrests. There are no "indiscriminate stops" being made. The Supreme Court recently vindicated us on this question. DHS enforces federal immigration law without fear, favor, or prejudice.

CLAIM: "People are getting detained, they're getting arrested: U.S. Citizens. They did this when they raided a building in the middle of the night in South Shore. 130 people, they were emptied out of this building. They were going after a few gangbangers, and instead, they broke windows, they broke down doors, they ransacked the place...They are the ones that are making it a war zone."

REALITY: Law enforcement conducted a targeted operation at an apartment building in the South Shore community of Chicago. This operation, conducted by the CBP, the FBI, and the ATF, resulted in the arrest of 37 illegal aliens, from such countries as Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, and Nigeria. Among them were Tren de Aragua gang members and violent criminals.

DHS has routinely debunked the absurd claim that DHS is targeting U.S. citizens during ICE operations. ICE does not arrest or deport U.S. citizens. Any U.S. citizens arrested are because of obstructing or assaulting law enforcement.

CLAIM: "There were people who were held, elderly people, and children zip-tied, elderly people held for three hours at a time."

REALITY: "Children were never zip tied. This is a shameful and disgusting lie," said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. "Why is the sitting Governor so unconcerned with criminal illegal aliens living among innocents in his city?"

The claim that a toddler was zip-tied originated from a screenshot that went viral, with the original poster claiming it showed an ICE officer zip-tying a child. This has been debunked: The screenshot in question was from a parody video on TikTok for entertainment, where the officer in the video was the father of the toddler seen in the image.

The hoax that went viral vs. the original video, which was a comedic parody.

CLAIM: "On September 12, ICE shot and killed a man in Franklin Park, a nearby suburb of Chicago. His name was Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez. Reports say that he had just dropped his kids off at a daycare and was headed to work."

REALITY: Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez was an illegal alien who, when law enforcement ordered him to stop his car, instead drove his car at the officers. One of the ICE officers was hit by the car and dragged a significant distance. Fearing for his own life and broader public safety, the officer fired his weapon. Despite his injuries, the officer and his partner immediately started administering emergency medical care to the illegal alien, who was pronounced dead. Villegas-Gonzalez, who was the target of the operation, was a criminal illegal alien with a history of reckless driving.

CLAIM: "In the small suburban village of Broadview, with a population of 8,000, federal agents have turned two blocks of protest areas into a warzone, by firing tear gas and chemical agents at peaceful protesters."

REALITY: Rioters against DHS and other law enforcement in Illinois have been anything but peaceful. Over the weekend, Border Patrol law enforcement officers were ambushed by domestic terrorists that rammed federal agents with their vehicles.

One woman, Marimar Martinez, driving one of the vehicles, was armed with a semi-automatic weapon and has a history of doxxing federal agents. She took defensive fire from CBP agents, has been discharged from the hospital, and is currently in the custody of the FBI. The driver of another vehicle, Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, involved in the ramming, has been apprehended by law enforcement.

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