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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have arrested a slew of Chicago’s “worst-of-the-worst” offenders, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday.
The statement came as violence and unrest engulfed parts of the city which is suffering from mounting street violence and protests against federal operations.
The string of arrests, DHS said, targeted violent gang members, child abusers, and drug traffickers as part of Operation Midway Blitz, an ongoing crackdown on criminal illegal immigrants across Illinois.
DHS ‘BLITZES’ CHICAGOLAND, NETTING ‘MANY ARRESTS’ AS NOEM ONSITE FOR IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN
The DHS statement, titled “Despite Multiple Vehicle Attacks by Domestic Terrorists, DHS Law Enforcement Arrests Worst of Worst” listed several suspects taken into custody.
Among them was Wilmer Alexander Gonzalez Garaban, an alleged member of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang with a criminal history of theft and resisting an officer.
Ricardo Gervasio-Gervasio was included as a repeat offender convicted of drug crimes and DUI.
Jorge Mario Ramirez-Lopez, a criminal illegal immigrant from Guatemala, was also listed and has a conviction for larceny.
Ricardo Gervasio-Gervasio, from Mexico, who has convictions for cocaine possession, driving under the influence of liquor and dangerous drugs was also referenced.
Officials cited other individuals who were apprehended for assault, fraud, illegal reentry, and aggravated assault.
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Secretary Kristi Noem praised agents and officers’ persistence in the statement and said their efforts were despite violent resistance.
“We will not let violence by domestic terrorists and lawless rioters in Chicago slow us down from fulfilling the President’s mandate to arrest the worst of the worst,” Noem declared.
DHS claims that Operation Midway Blitz, launched in early September, has already led to over 1,000 arrests statewide, representing a major escalation in federal enforcement.
One of the most dramatic incidents occurred on October 4 in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood, where agents were reportedly surrounded by several vehicles, one of which rammed a federal car.
ICE ARRESTS ‘PEDOPHILES, RAPISTS, ABUSERS’ IN CHICAGO SANCTUARY CITY CRACKDOWN OPERATION
In the chaos, agents opened fire, striking a driver who was hospitalized and later charged.
In a separate case in Franklin Park, ICE agents shot and killed Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, who authorities said attempted to flee and dragged an officer during a vehicle stop.
The killing sparked fresh outrage and protests, with activists questioning the proportionality of the agents’ actions.
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