One year after Operation Midway Blitz began, some in Chicago area still waiting to file lawsuits against feds

One year after the Trump administration launched a high-profile immigration crackdown coined "Operation Midway Blitz" in the Chicago area, leading to thousands of arrests and deportations, many are still calling for accountability for how the weekslong campaign was handled.

Federal agents storming a South Shore apartment building in the middle of the night. Protesters shot with pepper bullets and detained. A father shot and killed. The three have a few things in common.

They were all targets during Operation Midway Blitz, and those involved are all planning to sue the federal government.

Kyle Frankovich and Juan Munoz found themselves zip-tied on the ground together on Oct. 12, 2025, in Broadview.

"Became fast friends in the cell," Frankovich said.

They were both at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview, observing agents and protesting Operation Midway Blitz.

"I felt myself be pulled down to the ground," Munoz said.

They were detained for hours before they were released. Neither of them was ever charged with a crime.

"I didn't assault anybody, and you have an identifiable photo of me used for ICE recruitment propaganda," Frankovich said.

Both men said they were in designated protest "free zones" when they were taken down by federal agents. Both men accuse federal law enforcement of wrongly detaining them and using them as props for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's visit to Broadview that day.

"Masked federal agents can't and should not be able to get away with committing such a massive amount of violence," Frankovich said.

After arresting about a dozen protesters that day, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security later sent out social media posts, including a promotional video with Frankovich handcuffed. Another was a recruitment post and said, "We will not allow violent activist to lay hands on our law enforcement."

Frankovich and Munoz are working to sue the federal government – a process that takes months.

"The government makes us wait before we can actually proceed," said their attorney, Antonio Romanucci, who has filed a claim under the federal Tort Claims Act, which gives the federal government six months to settle before anyone can enter a courtroom.

What would Romanucci say to people that are confused that the process takes so long?

"First of all, never lose faith when it comes to achieving accountability. Never," he said.

Romanucci's firm had to stop taking similar cases, overwhelmed by the sheer number of them. At least a dozen such cases from the Chicago area are currently pending, including Rev. David Black, a pastor hit in the face by a pepper bullet while protesting outside Broadview, and Marimar Martinez, a teacher's assistant shot five times by federal agents in the Brighton Park neighborhood.

Jonathan Manes is representing the family of Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, a Mexican national and father of two, who was shot and killed during a traffic stop in northwest suburban Franklin Park, shortly after dropping his child off at school.

"He was driving away from the ICE officers. There was no need to kill him," Manes said.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security at the time said when an immigration agent tried to arrest Villegas-Gonzalez, he resisted and tried to ram the agents with his car. That's when DHS said an ICE agent opened fire.

The Trump administration claimed Villegas-Gonzales dragged an ICE agent with his car and severely injured him. However, bodycam video captured the agent describing his own injuries as "nothing major."  

Despite the time it's taken, those who have filed tort claims over what happened to them or their loved ones during Operation Midway Blitz have described similar motivations.

"We do get to speak our truth, tell our story, let people know what happened to us," Frankovich said.

If any of these cases lead to federal lawsuits, they would automatically be bench trials, meaning no jury to decide the verdict.

There have not been any criminal charges filed against federal agents over their actions during Operation Midway Blitz, much to the frustration of those hoping to sue.

Asked for a response, the Department of Homeland Security said they would have a statement on Wednesday. Previously, the department has denied any wrongdoing during Operation Midway Blitz.