Daywatch: Little Village and Cicero swarmed by immigration agents

Good morning, Chicago.

Federal immigration agents flanked by Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino swarmed Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood yesterday, community leaders said, arresting at least seven people, including U.S. citizens, and clashing with residents who filmed them.

The operation caused chaos in one of Chicago’s oldest and largest immigrant communities – known as “Mexico of the Midwest” – and its neighboring Cicero, with the agents’ presence sparking fear at a local laundromat, a Sam’s Club and the popular El Milagro restaurant and tortilleria on 26th Street.

Among those taken into custody were two street vendors and a man who left his home to do laundry. A social media video also appeared to show Border Patrol agents, with Bovino present, detaining a woman during a confrontation with onlookers.

Community leaders and elected officials condemned the raids later Wednesday afternoon, saying agents trespassed on private property to effect arrests.

“Our communities are not a war zone,” said Marcela Rodriguez, the co-executive director of community group Enlace. “This is our home.”

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Laura Rodríguez Presa, Talia Soglin, Gregory Royal Pratt and Madeline Buckley.

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