Tear Gas Against Citizens - How ICE in Illinois Crushed the Protest

It was no longer a police operation, it was a battle. In Illinois on Friday morning heavily armed federal agents moved in like an army in urban combat. Black helmets, camouflage uniforms, gas grenades, assault rifles with chemical irritant attachments - an image that did not resemble civil order but Fallujah or Kabul. From the rooftops of the facility tear gas and so-called sting balls rained down on the crowd. Agents fired from above as if the unarmed demonstrators were a hostile army to be dispersed. On ground level special units advanced in formation, rifles at the ready, smoke clouds in the background, the roar of commands echoing through the streets. People coughed, writhed, tears streamed down faces, some collapsed. The area around the ICE building turned into a gas field within minutes.

The official justification: demonstrators had blocked vehicles. But the martial image did not match the claim of a few blocked cars. Here violence was used to set an example. ICE spoke of "rioters." The reality is citizens exercising their right to protest - treated by a federal agency like insurgents. Among those affected were not only activists but also elected officials. Chicago alderman Andre Vasquez was present, as was at times the Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, Juliana Stratton. A congressional candidate reported that she was pushed to the ground and hit with chemical agents. That a federal agency is prepared to go after officeholders as well is an open threat.

The background explains the severity. Illinois has become a symbol in the framework of "Operation Midway Blitz," a new deportation campaign by the government. Week after week people gather here to protest against the ICE system. Week after week it escalates further. The fatal shot of an ICE agent at Silverio Villegas González hangs over the demonstrations like a dire warning. Instead of de-escalating, ICE resorts to the next level: chemical weapons, shock munitions, armed troops in the streets. The numbers of this day seem almost incidental: around 100 participants, at least two arrests, perhaps three. But they obscure the essential point. It is no longer just about numbers, it is about images - images of heavily armed men advancing against civilians in the streets of Illinois. Images of a state enforcing its deportation policy like a frontline.

Illinois is not an isolated case, Illinois is a magnifying glass. It shows how far the USA under Trump is willing to go to crush political resistance. Tear gas from the roof, storm troops on asphalt - these are images of an internal war that the government has created for itself. Whoever sees them recognizes: it is no longer about order. It is about intimidation, about the message that protest against ICE will be met with violence. And the question remains: when a democracy begins to treat its citizens like enemies, what is left of democracy? Illinois delivers a grim answer.