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Molly Butler / Media Matters

Research/Study Research/Study

Trump officials deny that US citizens have been arrested in immigration raids — but local Chicago reporting has repeatedly shown otherwise

Written by Harrison Ray

Published

Trump administration officials have repeatedly denied reporting from national media about U.S. citizens being arrested or detained by the Department of Homeland Security in immigration raids across the country. However, local Chicago news outlets have steadily reported on U.S. citizens subjected to aggressive behavior from federal immigration agents — often involving physical force, wrongful detention or arrest, and lack of immediate legal recourse — ramping up during “Operation Midway Blitz,” part of a series of DHS immigration sweeps that began targeting the city in September.

  • National news media have repeatedly reported US citizens are being arrested or detained by federal agents in Trump’s immigration raids

    • On September 29, The New York Times reported that “at least 15 U.S. citizens have been arrested or detained” during the Trump administration's immigration sweeps. The Times wrote: “While many of those detained have immediately declared their U.S. citizenship to officers, they have routinely been ignored, according to interviews with the men, their lawyers and court documents. In some cases they have been handcuffed, kept in holding cells and immigration facilities overnight, and in at least two cases held without access to a lawyer or even a phone call.” [The New York Times, 9/29/25]
    • On October 16, ProPublica highlighted at least 170 cases of U.S. citizens — including children and military veterans — who had been arrested or detained sometimes for days on end and without access to legal assistance. From the report: “When federal officers roll through communities in the way the Supreme Court permitted, the constitutional rights of both citizens and noncitizens are inevitably violated, argued David Bier, the director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. He recently analyzed how sweeps in Los Angeles have led to racial profiling. ‘If the government can grab someone because he’s a certain demographic group that’s correlated with some offense category, then they can do that in any context.’” [ProPublica, 10/16/25]
    • Two congressional committees announced investigations into DHS misconduct following reports of citizens being arrested. From an October 20 report by The New York Times: “The ranking Democratic members of two congressional oversight committees announced on Monday that they had started an investigation into reports of misconduct by federal agents during immigration arrests across the country, focusing on the detainment of American citizens. The investigation, a joint effort between the House Oversight Committee and the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, will inquire how long American citizens have been held and whether they were allowed to call a lawyer.” [The New York Times, 10/20/25]

  • Trump officials continually deny the reporting from national outlets about American citizens being swept up by DHS

    • Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin responded definitively to a New York Times article highlighting citizen arrests. In an early October DHS press release, McLaughlin claimed, “We have said it a million times: ICE does NOT arrest or deport U.S. citizens.” [DHS.gov, 10/1/25]
    • McLaughlin responded to a ProPublica report finding more than 170 U.S. citizens were held by immigration agents. “In response to questions from ProPublica, the Department of Homeland Security said agents do not racially profile or target Americans,” the outlet reported. “‘We don’t arrest US citizens for immigration enforcement,’ wrote spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.” [ProPublica, 10/16/25]
    • Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed that no American citizens had been arrested or detained in immigration raids. During an October 30 press conference, Noem claimed, “There’s no American citizens that have been arrested or detained. We focus on those that are here illegally. And anything that you would hear or report that would be different than that is simply not true and false reporting.” [Chicago Sun-Times, 10/30/25]

  • Local Chicago media outlets have highlighted numerous examples of US citizens being arrested or detained during “Operation Midway Blitz”

    • On September 16, Chicago’s NBC 5 News reported a man was taken into ICE custody during an immigration raid despite being a U.S. citizen. “NBC 5 spoke to one man who was arrested and has since been released after proving with his ID that he is, in fact, an American citizen,” said reporter Lexi Sutter. “I was speaking with witnesses all afternoon who were really rattled by what they saw unfold here today, and said it was quite the dramatic scene.” [WMAQ, NBC 5 News, 9/16/25]
    • Good Day Chicago highlighted a speech from Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who called out the administration handcuffing a U.S. citizen. After detailing “raids in the suburbs,” including an incident in which “ICE agents broke down a door and detained several people in Elgin,” reporter Joanie Lum noted that “agents reportedly detained a U.S. citizen in their sweep.” Stratton said, “This administration is not going after the, quote-unquote, ‘worst of the worst.’ What we are seeing is very different. They are targeting hard-working people who have been our neighbors for decades. And I want everyone to hear this: ICE handcuffed a United States citizen and then bragged about it on social media.” [WFLD, Good Day Chicago, 9/17/25]
    • NBC 5 News reported on Edgar Ruiz, a citizen who was detained while his undocumented father was arrested by ICE. WMAQ anchor Allison Rosati introduced the story, explaining, “Edgar Ruiz says he is a legal U.S. citizen who was detained by ICE at a gas station. His father is also in custody.” Reporter Natalie Martinez interviewed Ruiz, who explained, ”Some guy comes out of a vehicle, a random vehicle. As I'm opening the door, the guy's trying to hold the door. So I pushed the door toward him and he pulls out a gun. I moved the gun away from him and he shoots it in my face.” [WMAQ, NBC 5 News, 9/23/25]
    • Unraveled Press reporter Steve Held, a U.S. citizen, was arrested while reporting on protests outside of the Broadview ICE facility. “Agents fired pepper balls into a crowd of about 75 protesters Saturday evening and made several arrests” the Chicago Sun-Times reported. “Steve Held, a Chicago journalist, was one of those arrested. A Chicago Sun-Times reporter was struck by rubber projectiles and tear-gassed. Held is a co-founder of Unraveled Press, which has been working with the digital oulet [outlet] The TRiiBE and other independent media to cover protests at Broadview.” [Chicago Sun-Times, 9/28/25]
    • CBS News Chicago reported that ICE agents aggressively swarmed an apartment building in the middle of the night and detained residents, including 67-year-old citizen Rodrick Johnson, who said agents broke through his door and dragged him out in zip ties. Anchor Joe Donlon reported, “People who live there tell our Sabrina Franza that American citizens were also briefly detained. She’s live for us on the scene now.” Franza interviewed one local woman who said she was “held for hours in a van with other neighbors” from her apartment building “while agents confirmed her identity [and] citizenship,” with the reporter noting,... “Sources tell us that is standard protocol to keep everyone inside safe, though people who live here say this was frightening and definitely disconcerting.” [WBBM, CBS News Chicago, 9/30/25; WBEZ Chicago, 10/1/25]
    • Good Day Chicago highlighted a case where the mother of a teen citizen claims her son was violently detained by immigration officials. WFLD’s Dane Placko reported,“Elizabeth Ruiz says her son was driving with some friends to a movie when they were hit from behind by an ICE vehicle. She says she arrived at the scene just in time to see ICE agents arrest her son, who she says is a U.S. citizen.” Ruiz said, “One of the immigration officers just grabbed him by the arm viciously and arrested him. And then that’s when I started — obviously, he’s my son. I started to swear. I started to ask why, why, why? And I started to cry. They took him into the car.” [WFLD, Good Day Chicago, 10/5/25]
    • Fox 32 News reported about “an American-born citizen” being arrested by ICE just outside Waukegan City Hall. Lum reported, “The mayor of Waukegan, Sam Cunningham, was seen trying to deescalate a situation where agents had arrested a 22-year-old female driver for allegedly failing to follow orders. She reportedly is an American-born citizen. She called out the mayor’s name. She was later released. But that arrest and others right outside Waukegan City Hall have Lake County officials deeply troubled.” [WFLD, Fox 32 News, 10/7/25]
    • Fox 32 Chicago described the scene where four U.S. citizen cemetery workers denied ICE access to private property — then ICE agents detained and assaulted the workers. Lum’s report aired footage provided by Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins “showing federal agents demanding to be let into Concordia Cemetery, and the vapor of chemicals deployed on four cemetery workers” on October 7 after “federal agents demanded access to the locked cemetery. The agents were told it was private property. The agents cut the lock on the gate and, according to the workers, deployed pepper spray, body slammed, and cuffed them for five hours.” [Fox 32 Chicago, 10/13/25]
    • The Chicago Tribune highlighted the case of a U.S. citizen who was “detained by masked agents” on her way home from work and questioned about her immigration status. “Maria Greeley, 44, had just finished working a double shift at the Beach Bar on Ohio Street earlier this month when she said she was surrounded by three federal agents who grabbed her, forced her hands behind her back and zip-tied her,” wrote Tribune investigative reporter Gregory Royal Pratt. “Greeley, who was born at Illinois Masonic hospital and is adopted, carries a copy of her passport just in case she runs into federal agents. ‘I am Latina and I am a service worker,’ Greeley said. ‘I fit the description of what they’re looking for now.’” [Chicago Tribune, 10/13/25]
    • ABC7 Chicago reported on the escalating tactics used by DHS, highlighting a 19-year-old U.S.-born citizen who was shopping at Walgreens when federal agents entered the store and tackled him to the ground after a Border Patrol SUV crashed into another vehicle outside. The article by ABC7’s Michelle Gallardo and Tre Ward stated that “19-year-old South Side native Warren King says he was shopping with friends and family before he was tackled and arrested. The takedown by immigration officers was recorded outside a Walgreens store as loved ones pled for his release. King's relative can be heard saying in the video, ‘He's a citizen! He's a citizen!’” [ABC 7 Chicago, 10/15/25]
    • Fox 32 News highlighted a case where a teenage U.S. citizen was assaulted and zip-tied during an immigration sweep; DHS’ McLaughlin downplayed the incident. “DHS responding to claims that agents kidnapped a 15-year-old Chicago boy,” began the reporter by anchor Dawn Hasbrouck. “Attorneys for the teen say he was grabbed off the street, slammed to the ground, kneed in the back, and zip-tied by agents.” In a written statement, McLaughlin said, “Any claims that CBP ‘kidnapped' a U.S. citizen and held him in a warehouse are bizarre and categorically FALSE.” Hasbrouck concluded the segment by noting that “attorneys say the teen was detained for five hours and was not allowed to contact his mother.” [WFLD, Fox 32 News, 10/16/25]
    • The Chicago Sun-Times reported on the detention of three U.S. citizen children who were taken into custody in nearby Gary, Indiana, while DHS agents arrested their two undocumented parents. The October 30 article reported that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had “indicated the immigration enforcement campaign that’s rocked the Chicago area actually extends to five other states” — Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kentucky and Kansas — and noted, “Despite evidence to the contrary, Noem also said, “There’s no American citizens that have been arrested or detained.’ … Among the examples of citizens being detained, a Gary family was forced out of a home Oct. 23 in an early morning raid by ICE and the U.S. Marshals Service. Agents took into custody the undocumented parents and their three U.S.-born children, who are citizens. Two of the children have since been released.” [Chicago Sun-Times, 10/30/25]
    • The Chicago Tribune reported on an October 10 incident in which an unmarked ICE vehicle seemingly caused a collision after it suddenly pulled out in front of U.S. citizen Dayanne Figueroa, who was then arrested. “Seconds after the crash, agents abruptly stopped their vehicle and exited with weapons in hand pointing at Figueroa, a U.S citizen,” the Tribune reported. “Agents then forcibly opened her door and pulled her out of the vehicle by her legs without identifying themselves, presenting a warrant or informing her that she was under arrest. As bystanders yelled, ‘You hit her! We have it on video!’ agents ignored the crowd and forced Figueroa into a red minivan and drove away. Her car was left behind in the middle of the road, her coffee still in the cup holder, and her keys in plain view.” [Chicago Tribune, 11/3/25]