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CHICAGO (AP) — Concerned about clashes between agents and the public, a judge on Thursday ordered federal immigration agents in the Chicago area to wear body cameras and also summoned a top official to court next week to discuss a police operation that has resulted in more than 1,000 arrests.

U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis said she was “a little shocked” after watching television footage of street clashes involving tear gas and other tactics during President Donald Trump’s administration’s immigration crackdown in the nation’s third-largest city.

“I live in Chicago if people haven’t noticed,” he said. “And I’m not blind, am I?”

BROADVIEW, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 11: Police and protesters clash during a protest outside the Immigration Detention and Processing Center on October 11, 2025 in Broadview, Illinois. Demonstrations have been held outside the facilities for several weeks as the Trump administration's Operation Midway Blitz has been underway, arresting and detaining immigrants in the Chicago area. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
BROADVIEW, ILLINOIS – OCTOBER 11: Police and protesters clash during a protest outside the Immigration Detention and Processing Center on October 11, 2025 in Broadview, Illinois. Demonstrations have been held outside the facilities for several weeks as the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz has been underway, arresting and detaining immigrants in the Chicago area. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Scott Olson via Getty Images

Community efforts to oppose U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have intensified in Chicago, where neighborhood groups have gathered to monitor ICE activity and film incidents involving agents. More than 1,000 immigrants have been arrested since September.

An immigration control building in Broadview, outside Chicago, has been the scene of regular protests. The Trump administration has attempted to deploy National Guard troops to Illinois, in part to patrol the Broadview location, but the strategy was halted last week by a different federal judge.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 14: Residents and protesters confront federal agents in the East Side neighborhood on October 14, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. It was not immediately clear why federal agents were in the area, but people on social media reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested an individual and caused a car crash. Last week, a federal judge issued a temporary order preventing 500 National Guard troops from being sent to Chicago and surrounding suburbs to help protect ICE and other federal agents and federal property. President Donald Trump's administration continues to enforce immigration laws in Chicago and surrounding suburbs during its
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – OCTOBER 14: Residents and protesters confront federal agents in the East Side neighborhood on October 14, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. It was not immediately clear why federal agents were in the area, but people on social media reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested an individual and caused a car crash. Last week, a federal judge issued a temporary order preventing 500 National Guard troops from being sent to Chicago and surrounding suburbs to help protect ICE and other federal agents and federal property. President Donald Trump’s administration continues to enforce immigration laws in Chicago and surrounding suburbs during its “Operation Midway Blitz.” (Photo by Joshua Lott/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The Washington Post via Getty Images

Last week, Ellis said officers in the area must wear badges and prohibited them from using certain riot control techniques against peaceful protesters and journalists.

“I am concerned that my order will be followed,” the judge said.

“I add that all officers operating in Operation Midway Blitz must wear body cameras and they must be on,” Ellis said, referring to the government’s name for the crackdown.

U.S. Justice Department attorney Sean Skedzielewski blamed “one-sided and selectively edited media reports.” He also said it would not be possible to distribute cameras immediately.

“I get it. I wouldn’t expect officers to wear body cameras that they don’t have,” Ellis said, adding that the details could be worked out later.

He said the cameras would provide evidence to support how officers handle confrontations with protesters. Ellis said the field director of the law enforcement effort is due in court Monday.

BROADVIEW, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 10: Police clash with demonstrators protesting near the Immigration Detention and Processing Center on October 10, 2025 in Broadview, Illinois. Demonstrations have been held outside the facilities for several weeks as the Trump administration's Operation Midway Blitz has been underway, arresting and detaining immigrants in the Chicago area. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
BROADVIEW, ILLINOIS – OCTOBER 10: Police clash with demonstrators protesting near the Immigration Detention and Processing Center on October 10, 2025 in Broadview, Illinois. Demonstrations have been held outside the facilities for several weeks as the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz has been underway, arresting and detaining immigrants in the Chicago area. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Scott Olson via Getty Images

Gov. JB Pritzker praised the judge’s ruling and said the government’s statements about arrests and other incidents, including last month’s fatal shooting of a suburban Chicago man, have often been inaccurate.

“They’re clearly lying about what’s going on,” he told reporters. “It’s hard for us to know right away what the truth is.”

In 2024, Immigration and Customs Enforcement began deploying about 1,600 body cameras among agents assigned to Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Protesters clash with state and local authorities near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Broadview, Illinois, on Oct. 10, 2025. On Oct. 9, a federal judge ordered a temporary halt to President Donald Trump's deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops to the Chicago area as part of his broad crackdown on crime and immigration. The Trump administration has argued that troops are needed to protect immigration agents and facilities in the third-largest U.S. city, falsely describing it as a
Protesters clash with state and local authorities near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Broadview, Illinois, on Oct. 10, 2025. On Oct. 9, a federal judge ordered a temporary halt to President Donald Trump’s deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops to the Chicago area as part of his broad crackdown on crime and immigration. The Trump administration has argued that troops are needed to protect immigration agents and facilities in America’s third-largest city, falsely describing it as a “war zone.” (Photo by OCTAVIO JONES/News) (Photo by OCTAVIO JONES/News via Getty Images)

OCTAVIO JONES via Getty Images

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At the time, officials said they would be turned over to agents in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, Buffalo, New York and Detroit. Other Department of Homeland Security agencies require some agents to wear cameras. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has released body camera video when its agents or officers have used force.

Earlier this week, a Cook County judge banned ICE from arresting people at courthouses in Chicago and the suburbs.

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