NBC Chicago reports that over 3,000 people arrested by federal agents, nearly every Chicago detainee in the past seven weeks, are missing from DHS records. Around 1,200 Florida detainees missing since last month still haven’t been found.
DHS and Border Patrol officials claim that only undocumented immigrants are targeted in “Operation Midway Blitz,” the sweeping and violent crackdown on immigration in Chicago. However, officials have gone to court for making arrests without warrants, and the identities and locations of most detainees can’t be proven since the agency has deleted (or failed to make) records of their arrests.
Local reports and video footage have shown documented workers, U.S. citizens, and even American children picked up by federal agents in the area every week since the operation began.
“These are folks that have been here for decades, have long standing ties to the community, family members, employment, businesses that are all being torn apart,” attorney Mark Fleming told NBC Chicago.
Fleming believes many of the missing people have been deported, likely without any opportunity to speak to a lawyer or prove they’re in the country legally.
The situation in Florida is similar, with the Justice Dept. admitting this month that some Alligator Alcatraz detainees may be legal residents.
Four weeks ago, 1,200 people held at Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz were found to be missing. One-third had their location deleted from DHS records. The rest no longer had a DHS record at all.
For more on the Florida detainees, visit our Substack.
