As federal agents descend on Chicago for more immigration raids, our analysis shows what happened to ~1,600 people arrested there this fall. We report how federal agencies moved them through an expanded network of detention facilities — many rife with complaints of inhumane conditions.

Where have immigrants arrested during the so-called "Operation Midway Blitz" in Chicago ended up? New data reveals the privately-run detention facilities and local jails where ICE is holding people. @geoffhing.bsky.social @jillcastellano.bsky.social www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/18/i...

We tracked around 1,600 people detained in "Operation Midway Blitz" - the Chicago-area ICE raids that took place this fall. Here's where they ended up. @themarshallproject.org @geoffhing.bsky.social @shannonheffernan.bsky.social

Read more in @shannonheffernan.bsky.social & my latest @themarshallproject.org report: www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/17/c...

“You have that spike around 20 [days] where they’re trying to hold people as much as possible,” said Scott Shuchart, former head of policy at ICE under Biden. “They want to be able to hold families indefinitely, and remove them or pressure them to give up.”

ICE says its goal is to “ensure that minors are discharged from custody as quickly as possible.” But data shows a spike in detentions around the 20-day limit, which experts say indicates that the government is choosing to hold families for prolonged periods to facilitate deportations.

New analysis shows at least 3,800 children and infants have been booked into ICE detention since Trump took office. At least 1,300 were detained 20 days or more, the court limit for how long children with families can be held: www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/17/c...

Border Patrol called cops on this man and claimed he was trying to ram them. The man denied it to CPD and in a Tribune interview. He was let go. The livestream video doesn’t show the man attempting to ram anyone on LSD

I'm reporting on what it's like to go through perimenopause/menopause while incarcerated for @themarshallproject.org, and building a guide for currently incarcerated people. Help me by filling out or sharing this form! www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/16/m...

Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino praised Chicago police for assistance in a @chicagotribune.com interview. State law prohibits local police from helping with immigration operations. CPD said they responded to a call about a car attempting to ram agents cars. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/17/b...

Analysis by The Marshall Project of ICE data obtained by the Deportation Data Project found that the Trump administration’s revival of family detention has swept thousands of children into ICE custody. At least 3,800 children under 18, including 20 infants, have been booked since Trump took office.

NEW: CBP is ramping up a program using small drones to hunt down immigrants. It's part of a larger surveillance effort that expands far into the US. @dell.bsky.social has the scoop: www.wired.com/story/border...

“There is no other way to describe it; it’s a jail for children.” “The food they gave us was not edible,” the mother said in court documents. “We didn’t eat anything for days. They didn’t even give us water to drink.”

A large CBP presence is back in Chicago this morning, with sightings and arrests reported across the southwest side and Cicero. Bovino is also here.

After raiding shopping plazas in Cicero and Bedford Park this morning, a caravan of Border Patrol agents swung north toward Edgewater. Several Chicago police vehicles can be seen here intervening to protect their exit from DSLSD onto city streets and escort the caravan.

As Greg Bovino returns to Chicago, this story looks at children detained by ICE, including one 5-year-old swept up in Operation Midway Blitz earlier this year. “We didn’t eat anything for days. They didn’t even give us water to drink,” the mother said. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/17/c...

New Data shows at least 3,800 children, including infants, have been put in detention since Trump took office. Many were held for long stretches. “There is no other way to describe it; it’s a jail for children," one parent said. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/17/c...

"On the wall next to it, a sign read: 'When you have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher wall.'" @shannonheffernan.bsky.social and Julieta Martinelli for @themarshallproject.org/Latino USA/Futuro Investigates: www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/05/i...

Hundreds detained by ICE will remain in custody after a federal appeals court blocked a judge’s order that they be released, but the ruling also delivered a setback to the Trump administration by rejecting its interpretation of immigration detention law. blockclubchi.co/4rZ8AAo

What it looks like on the TV screen vs. where I am in real life

Kayla woke up early to visit her dad at a detention center. Her family had packed a bag so he’d have clothes to wear when he was deported. But they weren’t allowed to drop it off. Hear from families visiting one of the largest immigrant detention centers. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/05/i...

El Refugio is a house near one of the largest immigration detention centers in the U.S. People with loved ones locked in Stewart can stay the night or eat a meal. Last year, the house hosted around 800 people. This year, they estimate it will be 1,600. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/05/i...

Dorothy Day taught me. "if you have a house with extra rooms, they belong to the poor"

El Refugio is a house where people visiting detained immigrants can stay. The org's head said this year has been the hardest ever, but the volunteers’ work is a reminder that “in the midst of everything, there is something you could do.” www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/05/i...

Amid rising ICE arrests, volunteers provide aid — a meal, a bed, gas money — to anyone visiting someone detained in remote rural Georgia.

Read this moving profile about El Refugio, a hospitality house in Lumpkin, GA, that provides a place for loved ones of immigrants held at Stewart Detention Center to stay, rest, and visit detainees. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/05/i...

“People are hurting, families are torn apart. Kids are growing up without their parents." But the work of El Refugio, a two-story house in a tiny Georgia town where volunteers provide meals, beds, and gas money to anyone visiting someone detained in the area, offers rare refuge.

In the Shadow of an Immigrant Detention Center, a Small House Offers Refuge. Amid rising ICE arrests, volunteers provide aid — a meal, a bed, gas money — to anyone visiting someone detained in remote rural Georgia. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/05/i...

We spent 2 days at El Refugio, a hospitality house near one of the largest immigration detention center in the U.S. Families visiting detained people can go to the house to eat a meal or spend the night. Here's what we learned from people passing through. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/05/i...

Evening all, Today was packed in Chicago's fed court and I appreciate everyone who followed along with my coverage. If you'd like to help me continue this work (or grow it!) as an indie reporter, any support you can offer goes a long way. Either way, happy Thursday! Always more news tomorrow.

Some excerpts that stood out to me from District Judge Jeff Cummings' order today, compelling the release of at least some people found to have been detained in violation of a prior consent decree limiting how and when federal immigration agents can carry out warrantless arrests.

///BREAKING/// Judge Jeffrey Cummings orders that by noon of Nov. 17, he will order the release of all of the 615 "Operation Midway Blitz" detainees identified as class participants (at least those still here in the country) once they pay a $1,500 bond.

Marion County agrees to pay out $3M for newspaper raid, expresses regret. Editor says court cases against city continue #ksleg

The Chicago Headline Club Foundation has launched the Essential Equipment Fund to help independent and freelance journalists buy gear like respirators and helmets. headlineclub.org/2025/10/11/e...

Once one person trusted me enough to talk, my number spread through the Mohican Young Star Academy network. Over and over, I heard the same thing about the residential treatment facility for boys: someone is going to get hurt. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/11/06/r...

When someone dies behind bars, the officials who run prisons and jails don't always return all of their belongings to their loved ones. Books, drawings, letters, and other memorabilia, for many families, are precious reminders of the person they've lost.

Death behind bars, a story in 5 objects: A receipt is a mom's last connection to her son A man watches Knicks games w/ his brother's ashes An estranged child, wonders about a father's lost bible Travel books, for places un-visited A muddy hat, too precious to pack away. tinyurl.com/482hyknt

Etowah County is one example of the "zombie facility" trend that @shannonheffernan.bsky.social reports about here. ICE is repurposing/reopening older jails and prisons for use in immigration detention. From August. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/08/29/m...

What happens to a person's belongings in prison after the die? This is the story of what people in custody left behind, and what it meant to their families to receive (or not receive) those keepsakes. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/10/30/t...

One striking aspect of ICE resistance in Chicago, is how many people in the videos appear to be average, everyday residents out for walks or stepping out of their houses. Like, this guy is barefoot, in Blackhawk hockey PJs! Or... (*I've not personally talked to the people in these videos)

FULL STORY: U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis ordered Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, who has led a series of increasingly aggressive raids across Chicago and the suburbs, to appear in her courtroom in person at 10 a.m. Tuesday. @wttw.bsky.social

Stephen Miller on Fox threatens to arrest JB Pritzker for "seditious conspiracy" and says, "to all ICE officers: you have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties. And anybody who lays a hand on you or tries to stop or obstruct you is committing a felony."

As the brash Border Patrol boss was on the front lines in Chicago again today - amid clouds of tear gas - it's worth checking out this recent story about what Gregory Bovino left behind in his previous deployment to LA www.wbez.org/public-safet...

CPS confirms a landscaper detained this week was on district property. It appears to be the first time a @chipubschools.bsky.social vendor or employee was picked up during the federal immigration enforcement campaign. chicago.suntimes.com/education/20... by @mannycam.bsky.social

The Sun-Times is reporting Border Patrol took at least two teenage boys today when they hit Little Village, again. One is said to be a 16-year old student, U.S. citizen, and student at Benito Juarez Community Academy.

I love this interview with an academic (and clown!) who studies the use of "tactical frivolity" in protests. "Play has a role in very serious movements" www.themarshallproject.org/2025/10/22/t...

“That willingness to make yourself ridiculous can be very disarming,” said a professor who has studied — and engaged in — absurd protest methods.

BREAKING: Federal judge extends the order blocking the deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago. Follow live updates.

Great reporting from @mannyramos.bsky.social: "One Chicago-based company was awarded more than $7 million to relocate ICE employees while a suburban weapons manufacturer was paid nearly $1.5 million in two weeks to supply pepper balls and air-powered guns." blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/23/c...

"Federal immigration agents arrested Scott Sakiyama outside his child’s Oak Park elementary school this week after he followed them and honked his horn to warn others of their presence." www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/23/o...