Chicago Police Joined ICE Task Force to Spy on Minnesota Anti-ICE Event
Chicago-area officers collaborated with Homeland Security Investigations to surveil a April 2 anti-ICE gathering in Chicago that featured Minnesota activists linked to the federal “Minnesota 15” case.
Documents obtained by defense counsel reveal that a Chicago-area Homeland Security Investigations task force, comprising officers from Chicago, Aurora, Downers Grove, Cook County and Kane County, infiltrated an April 2 anti-ICE event hosted at the Co-Prosperity gallery in Bridgeport. The team deployed two undercover agents, electronic surveillance tools, license-plate readers and the city’s extensive CCTV network to record the meeting and track 219 nearby vehicles.
Information gathered was forwarded to HSI agents in Minneapolis and linked speakers to the federal conspiracy indictment against the “Minnesota 15.” While Illinois law bars local police from immigration enforcement, officials argue the probe fell under criminal investigation, a claim the Chicago Police Department could not substantiate with internal approvals. Civil-rights groups criticize the operation as a breach of First Amendment rights and call for a full accounting of local participation in federal task forces.
Why it matters
The case highlights how local police may aid federal immigration raids, raising legal and civil-rights concerns about surveillance of protest activity.
How this story developed
- Aug 13 San Antonio immigrants live in constant fear as ICE arrests surge
- Sep 20 A man was wounded after being shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in North Austin, Texas, and taken to a local hospital.
- Sep 27 A federal judge scheduled a personal appearance for the man on September 30 and issued a temporary order halting his deportation.
- Sep 29 The U.S. Supreme Court granted the Justice Department’s emergency request, letting the Trump administration continue deporting migrants to third countries while the policy’s legality is examined.
- Sep 30 Supreme Court issued an emergency order allowing third‑country deportations to continue.
- Sep 30 An immigration judge ruled that Salah Sarsour, head of Wisconsin’s largest mosque, can be deported on national-security grounds despite his claim that the case targets his Palestinian-rights advocacy.
- Sep 30 The Justice Department lodged complaints with the 8th Circuit alleging that Minnesota federal judges made partisan statements about a Trump-era deportation surge.
- Oct 1 A federal indictment charging Garces Perez with assault was filed.
- Oct 3 The filing requests that the judges be barred from hearing Department of Homeland Security cases.
- Oct 3 A Chicago immigration judge allowed a possible deportation of Salah Sarsour.
- Oct 8 A person was shot by federal agents in Marble Hill, Bronx, and is now receiving treatment at a nearby hospital.
- Oct 9 ICE announced it will continue enforcement actions in New York City despite the shooting.
- Oct 10 Protests spread to Manhattan and lower Manhattan, drawing thousands of demonstrators.
- Oct 10 An off‑duty ICE agent was shot after allegedly assaulting a homeowner and his father in Fresno.
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