Surge of Violent Federal Immigration Raids Ignites Controversy, Unease Nationwide
- Natalie Frank
- Oct 18
- 2 min read
Amid distrust, mounting tension, agents face missions in increasing numbers of cities and the results are volatile
Natalie C. Frank, Ph.D October 18, 2025
CHICAGO – A surge in aggressive federal immigration enforcement has put agents into city streets where their presence and tactics are drawing sharp criticism and stoking public alarm. A former acting director of ICE warned that these agents are being sent into “a city where they don’t belong,” placing them, he said, in “a terrible position.”
Many of those agents, particularly from CBP and Border Patrol, were originally tasked with confronting high-risk threats like human smuggling and drug trafficking along the southern border. Yet a number of the same officers are now operating deep inside cities such as Chicago, carrying out arrests and enforcement actions that have been captured on cellphones and shared widely online.
Video shows seized vehicles, forceful street takedowns and the use of tear gas after a federal vehicle crash on Chicago’s South Side. That incident led a federal judge to order that agents wear body cameras in Chicago as part of a lawsuit brought by media organizations alleging excessive force and the targeting of protesters and journalists.
Governor J.B. Pritzker said, “I think we’re going to see more cases brought against ICE and CBP,” reflecting growing state-level concern over the federal reach of these agencies. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE and CBP, acknowledged the videos and described them as examples of “a growing and dangerous trend of illegal aliens and agitators obstructing and attacking law enforcement.”
Sandweg says DHS’s rules of engagement generally mirror those for local police. “The use-of-force policies for DHS are pretty consistent with law enforcement agencies around the country,” he noted. “The force you use needs to be reasonable to the threat you face. You are required to try to de-escalate a situation first.”
Still, experts with decades of law-enforcement experience say what we’re seeing now is unprecedented. Jerry Robinette, who spent 34 years as a police officer and as special agent in charge for HSI, called the environment “stressful for both sides,” for protesters and federal agents alike. “The agents have a mission, and they’re only going to tolerate so much… And when somebody crosses that line, you know, the administration has pretty much given them orders that they are not to back down.”
