Federal immigration agents once again deployed tear gas on the streets of Chicago this Saturday, despite increasing scrutiny from a federal judge regarding their use of chemical weapons. The agents released tear gas in the Irving Park neighborhood on the city’s northwest side.
Videos captured at the intersection of North Kildare Avenue and West Old Irving Park show a group of local residents marching down the street, filming the incident, and blowing whistles while vocally confronting the federal agents. The officers, all masked and some wearing sunglasses, faced the crowd as tensions escalated.
Carlos Rodriguez, a resident who recorded the videos, can be heard saying, “The (expletive) out of here man. The fuck are you guys doing here? Get out of our city.” Another man yells, “Hey, you are all (expletive) cowards.” A woman also demands that the officers, who bore Border Patrol insignia, show their identification. Throughout the scene, the piercing sound of whistles echoed down the block.
Some of the agents drove away in a white SUV as the crowd called them fascists, but another vehicle without license plates remained on site. In a separate video, thick plumes of smoke billowed down the street as the crowd’s chants and whistles intensified. Onlookers scrambled to the sidewalk to avoid the chemical agents; one man was even seen barefoot and wearing his Chicago Blackhawks pajamas.
“Tear gas at Old Irving Park, right now,” Rodriguez says in the footage. “Our own neighborhood. Scaring our children. Unbelievable. Never thought this would happen in my neighborhood. Scaring our children to death. Thinking that this is a cool thing to do.”
In recent weeks, immigration agents have used tear gas in multiple Chicago neighborhoods including Logan Square, Brighton Park, Little Village, East Side, and Lakeview. These actions have drawn intense criticism and legal scrutiny amid allegations of excessive force and claims that the agents are violating a federal court order designed to limit the use of chemical weapons.
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis recently ordered Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino to appear in court personally this Tuesday, as part of an ongoing inquiry examining possible violations of her restraining order on crowd-control tactics, including the deployment of tear gas during Operation Midway Blitz.
Federal officials’ credibility has been repeatedly questioned during the Trump administration’s Operations Midway Blitz, including by U.S. District Judge April Perry. Judge Perry recently stated that the federal government has a credibility problem, rendering many of their claims “unreliable.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) previously defended the use of tear gas in Little Village last Thursday, initially stating that their agents had been surrounded by protesters who struck Chief Bovino in the head with a rock. On Saturday, DHS released a statement supporting its use of tear gas in Lakeview, stating that agents were “swarmed by agitators” who allegedly tried to deflate a vehicle’s tires.
At this time, the department has not commented on the most recent use of tear gas in Irving Park.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/25/chicago-tear-gas-irving-park/
Be First to Comment