Illinois commission to hold second day of hearings on Operation Midway Blitz
A second day of hearing was set for Tuesday on an investigation into Operation Midway Blitz, the Trump administration's aggressive immigration crackdown in Chicago.
The agenda Tuesday for the Illinois Accountability Commission hearing includes testimony from Marimar Martinez, who was shot by a Border Patrol agent last fall in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood.
Also at the hearing Tuesday, videos with titles like "East Side Car Chase" and "Propaganda and Lies" are set to be shown.
This comes after an emotional first day on Monday, which included the screening of video showing just one hour of federal immigration enforcement during one October morning.
Minutes before agents threw tear gas at a protesting crowd, they pulled someone from a vehicle and tackled him. They also screeched to a halt in front of a young girl, and then questioned her citizenship, before moving on.
Video was also shown Monday of a run-in between Evanston residents and Border Patrol agents on Halloween day. A U.S. citizen was heard screaming as the agents pinned him down.
The U.S. citizen seen in the video from Evanston was arrested for assaulting officers, but his case was later dismissed.
A witness who filmed some of the footage in Evanston testified Monday. Jennifer Moriarty said officers grabbed her by the neck, shoved her in a vehicle, and then got angry at other bystanders.
"He said he was going to shoot them," Moriarty said.
Moriarty was asked what was going through your head as this was all unfolding before her. "That just, trying to process it was insane, because this is not real," she said. "This can't be real."
Members of the Illinois Accountability Commission said they have reviewed nearly 100 hours of footage from body cameras worn by agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The investigation into Operation Midway Blitz also involved the collection of hours of video from surveillance cameras, cellphones, and social media.
A total of 16 different incidents involving federal agents are part of the commission's investigation.
Meanwhile Monday, an Illinois mother expressed outrage that the Trump administration is using her daughter's name for immigration enforcement.
Denise Lorence's daughter, Katie Abraham, was killed in a drunk driving crash in Urbana in January of last year by an immigrant without permanent legal status.
The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly invoked the name of Abraham, a Glenview native, to justify their aggressive tactics during Operation Midway Blitz. Abraham's father approved of the administration doing so, but her mother said she did not.
"The Trump administration preyed on her name and used it in a vile way," Lorence said. "They're using her name only for their political gain, and it's wrong, and I've had enough."
Tuesday is the last day of hearings. On Thursday, the commission will present recommendations to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
