Operation Midway Blitz

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I would like to address another issue on a different topic. For more than 3 months, Chicago has endured President Trump's Operation Midway Blitz. It is a cruel campaign that swept up innocent citizens, legal American residents, and immigrants who pose absolutely no threat to public safety.

Remember why the President wanted to send troops and more resources to the Department of Homeland Security into the city of Chicago? Because he was going after ``the worst of the worst.'' He was going after terrorists, murderers, rapists, the criminally insane who somehow got into this country, and he was going to make it safer by going after them. What has actually happened? The Trump administration justified their actions by saying that they were going after ``the worst of the worst,'' but what happened was just the opposite.

Federal agents, under President Trump, have used excessive force in Chicago while patrolling our streets, including deploying pepper balls and tear gas into crowds, using zip ties to contain women and children, and physically tackling peaceful protesters to the ground. If you think I am making this up, virtually everything I just said is verified by video.

In a hearing challenging the treatment of press and protesters by Federal immigration agents, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis said the ``use of force shocks the conscience'' and ``this conduct shows no sign of stopping,'' said the Federal judge. In contrast to this judge's observation, Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino boasted in his deposition, almost mockingly, that ``all uses of force have been more than exemplary.'' I will just tell you, Mr. Bovino, look at the videotape.

To rein in the lawlessness, Judge Ellis issued a preliminary injunction restricting the agents' use of chemical agents against protesters. Outside of a Lutheran church in Albany Park several weeks ago, after an 11 o'clock service broke up, the parishioners were leaving the church. The ICE agents were waiting on the sidewalk and dropped a tear gas canister in front of the church. Whistles were going off and eventually ICE agents left. But do you think would-be terrorists were at that Lutheran service? I don't think so. It was harassment in that neighborhood.

Judge Ellis issued a finding, a 233-page opinion, explaining her ruling on examining specific instances of Federal immigration agents' use of excessive force. While the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has temporarily paused that injunction, which she issued while it considers the government's appeal, the court noted that Judge Ellis ``has developed voluminous . . . robust factual findings'' of wrongdoing by these agents.

And though some courts have acted as a critical guard against the President's lawlessness, those rulings don't change the fact that the Trump administration's militarized raids are dangerous political theater meant to spread fear and advance an anti-immigrant agenda.

After wreaking havoc in Illinois and now Charlotte, reports indicate the city of New Orleans is Greg Bovino's next target. I ask my Republican colleagues: What if this Midway Blitz comes to your State, your hometown? What is stopping the President from sowing fear there, conducting lawless raids in your cities? It is up to all of us to denounce this kind of conduct.

Just incidentally, they did a survey of 600 of the people who have been arrested in Chicago in the Midway Blitz, going after ``the worst of the worst'' criminals. What percentage of those 600 do you think actually had any kind of criminal record that was serious? It was 2 percent, 16 of them--16 people out of 600.

Millions of dollars being spent to terrorize innocent people and wreck these communities and their economies, and it turns out the return rate was 2 percent. Sixteen would-be criminals were brought to justice at the expense of our community.

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