Shocking Video Shows ICE Agents Dragging Kids From Their Homes — Now Used in DHS Promo Clip
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently released a dramatic video promoting “Operation Midway Blitz” in Chicago — complete with pounding music, helmet cameras, battering rams, and masked ICE agents charging through stairwells. The video proudly boasted “OVER 900 ARRESTS” and ended with a bold warning: “Darkness is no longer your ally. We will find you.”
But residents of Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood say the real story looked very different from the one shown in the slick government reel.
According to witnesses and community advocates, the same night DHS was filming its “victory” montage, federal agents raided a high-rise apartment building, breaking down doors and detaining people — including children and senior citizens — some of whom were reportedly U.S. citizens.
Neighbors described it as a terrifying siege. They said apartments were torn apart and residents were zip-tied on the sidewalk for hours while ICE teams went door-to-door. One woman told the Chicago Sun-Times she saw “kids coming out buck naked,” calling it “heartbreaking” as families were loaded into unmarked rental vans.
Rodrick Johnson, a 67-year-old American citizen, said agents smashed through his door, handcuffed him, and left him outside in the cold while they checked his name in their system. “I kept asking if they had a warrant or if I could speak to a lawyer,” he said. “They just ignored me.”
DHS officials have defended the South Shore raid, saying it was part of a larger operation targeting “violent offenders,” including alleged gang members and drug traffickers. They claimed 37 arrests were made that night. The department also suggested that the area has ties to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang — but offered no concrete evidence linking any of the arrested individuals to the group.
Community groups, however, say the damage is deeper than DHS wants to admit. “This was a violent show of force in the middle of the night,” said Brandon Lee from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. “Families don’t just recover from watching their children taken away at gunpoint.”
Immigration policy analyst Aaron Reichlin-Melnick also criticized the government for what he called “tone-deaf propaganda,” arguing that DHS turned a traumatic night into a “victory montage.” “They’re bragging about scenes that should have sparked outrage and reflection, not celebration,” he said.
The promotional video, shared widely across DHS’s official social media accounts, was framed as proof of the agency’s success in a citywide crackdown supposedly resulting in over 900 arrests. But local reporters say that number is impossible to verify because DHS hasn’t released detailed booking information.
According to FOX 32 Chicago, the city’s own police department did not participate in the South Shore operation, even though federal agents surrounded the entire building during the raid.
This isn’t the first time DHS has tried to use flashy online content to shape public perception. Just last week, the agency drew ridicule for posting a Pokémon-themed meme campaign — an attempt at “relatable” outreach that backfired spectacularly.
Meanwhile, the “Operation Midway Blitz” video continues to gain views online, while immigrant rights groups are building their own independent databases to track who was actually detained, their immigration status, and what charges they face.
For many in South Shore, the lingering question isn’t about numbers or hashtags — it’s about accountability. Why did a federal operation in a residential tower feel like a military invasion? And why is the government turning it into a highlight reel instead of explaining what really happened?
Until DHS provides real answers instead of promotional clips, residents say the agency’s “900 arrests” slogan represents something else entirely — 900 new reasons to be afraid the next time ICE comes knocking in the middle of the night.
