Credibility: Original Reporting On the Ground Sources Cited Original Reporting This article contains new, firsthand information uncovered by its reporter(s). This includes directly interviewing sources and research/analysis of primary source documents. On the Ground Indicates that a Newsmaker/Newsmakers was/were physically present to report the article from some/all of the location(s) it concerns. Sources Cited As a news piece, this article cites verifiable, third-party sources which have all been thoroughly fact-checked and deemed credible by the Newsroom. Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino and federal immigration agents during an enforcement operation at 26th and Cicero Avenue on Oct. 22, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago This is part of our series of daily recaps of ICE activity in the Chicago region. Have a tip we should check out? Email newsroom@blockclubchi.org.CHICAGO — Federal agents detained at least seven people — two of them U.S. citizens and staff members for a Chicago alderperson — as they wound through Little Village and suburban Cicero on Wednesday morning, officials said. Federal agents, including Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, were spotted at various locations in Little Village and Cicero throughout the morning, making stops at a local Home Depot and laundromat. Carlos Macías, owner of Carniceria y Taqueria Aguascalientes at 3132 W. 26th St., has lived all 50 years of his life in Little Village. Wednesday was the first time he’s encountered a federal agent — and it was when they chased and arrested his employee outside of the business, he said. The employee had been taking items off a truck on the neighborhood’s vibrant 26th Street when an unmarked car pulled up and agents got out. The agents took Macias’ employee as the restaurant owner asked why. “You know why we’re taking him,” the agent replied, according to Macias. “He’s a f—ing illegal.” The employee was going through the asylum-seeking process, Macias said. “We’re all sad,” Macias said. The man is “a coworker, a friend and a father of two … and a husband. He’s been here a good six, seven years. … He’s a stand-up guy. He came to the U.S. to seek the American dream. “And it’s a nightmare.” Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd), said seven people were arrested in the area Wednesday, including two members of his staff who are both U.S. citizens. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago Macias’ family has deep roots in Little Village. Now, he’s not going to let his employees work outside, he said. “I don’t want to put them at risk,” he said. A street vendor was also detained near West 26th Street and South Spaulding Avenue. The vendor’s truck where he usually sells eggs was picked up by family members, witnesses said. At one point, agents, including Bovino, stopped near 26th Street and Cicero Avenue, where they faced off with neighbors and local officials following a car accident. The Cicero Police Department said officers responded to a call from a Border Patrol supervisor who told them someone tried to ram one of the agency’s vehicles near 26th and Ogden about 11:15 a.m. When they arrived on the scene, officers found two other cars involved in a crash — neither of them belonging to Border Patrol agents. “Investigators determined that the driver of a blue GMC pickup was allegedly attempting to strike ICE agents in a Chevy Silverado while those agents were in the area,” a Cicero Police Department spokesperson said. “When both vehicles reached a red light at that intersection, the driver of the GMC pickup accelerated away, disregarded the red light and collided with a gray Toyota Corolla driving through that intersection.” No injuries were reported, and the driver of the GMC was taken into federal custody, Cicero police said. Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino and federal immigration agents during an enforcement operation at 26th and Cicero Avenue on Oct. 22, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago Little Village officials who were on the scene dispute this account, saying they did not witness a vehicle attempting to ram border patrol agents. Sen. Celina Villanueva said she does not believe any allegations made by Border Patrol. “The reality is they lie,” she said. Locals recorded the agents as they held long guns and pepper-sprayed at least one man. Chicago police also responded to the scene. The Department of Homeland Security and Border Patrol did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Among those gathered was Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd), who said seven people were detained in Little Village and Cicero Wednesday, including two members of his staff who are both U.S. citizens. Elianne Bahena, chief of staff for the 22nd Ward office, and police district council member Jacqueline Lopez were detained at 10:55 a.m. at West 26th Street and South Kostner Avenue, Rodriguez said. The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability issued a statement Wednesday “urgently demanding answers from federal authorities” while and calling for Bahena’s “immediate and safe release.” The commission said that Bahena was detained “while documented reported immigration enforcement activity” in Little Village. The two were released by Thursday morning, according to CBS2. At a news conference after federal agents left the area, local officials and business owners commended people who documented detentions and blew whistles to let their neighbors know immigration agents were in the area. They also thanked business owners who opened their doors as people sought refuge. “It’s with this unity that I come here and demand that my staff be returned to me and my staff and my neighbors be returned to my community,” Rodriguez said at a press conference after the encounter. Earlier Wednesday morning, around 10 a.m., agents detained at least two people at a laundromat near West 31st Street and South Pulaski Road, a witness said. One of the detainees was a U.S. citizen from Cicero, Rodriguez said. Just minutes before, agents detained a parent of a Little Village school student at 25th Street and Keeler Avenue. Workers inside the laundromat shut down the business doors and denied entry to over a dozen Border Patrol agents who parked about a dozen vans in the parking lot, according to a witness. “This is terrorism on behalf of the federal government,” Villanueva said near the scene Wednesday afternoon. Little Village, also called La Villita, is a famous Mexican-American enclave, and Cicero also has a large Latino population. The agents’ activity comes as all of Chicago — but particularly Latino-majority neighborhoods like Little Village — has seen increased immigration enforcement as part of operations Midway Blitz and At Large. Neighbors, organizers and officials called out Border Patrol agents for bringing “chaos and terror” to the community, saying the federal immigration crackdown is not making neighbors safer. “That is not safety. That is violence. It is reckless and destructive and it is in direct conflict with the values of justice and dignity that this nation claims to uphold,” said Marcela Rodriguez, co-chair of the Illinois Latino Agenda and Executive Director at Little Village-based Enlace Chicago. Neighbors and officials, however, said the “strong and resilient” community will continue to keep neighbors safe and protect each other as they stand against the “terrorizing attacks” of the Trump administration. “The terror we’ve seen in the city, in our neighborhood, today is absolutely unacceptable. We’re not going to stand for it,” Rodriguez said. Happening In Chicago Local leaders are demanding ICE release Ruben Torres Maldonado, a father of two whose 16-year-old daughter spent had just spent 39 days in the hospital going through chemotherapy and radiation therapy before he was taken by agents. A Chicago father has elected to voluntarily leave the United States, hoping he can challenge his detention in the future — but the road ahead is uncertain. State officials are looking to crack down on federal agents who illegally tamper with license plates after a Sun-Times investigation, according to a report from the paper. At 9 a.m. Wednesday, agents detained and questioned several people in an alley and a Burger King parking lot near North Avenue and Mozart Street, according to the Northwest Side Rapid Response Team. At 9:30 a.m., an agent detained a person who had been in their truck at a gas station near Armitage Avenue and Pulaski Road, according to the Northwest Side Rapid Response Team. At 10 a.m., federal agents detained a person at a gas station near 35th Street and California Avenue, according to Southwest Side Rapid Response. At 10:10 a.m., three agents detained a questioned a woman near North Lawndale Avenue and West Thomas Street, according to the Northwest Side Rapid Response Team. The woman was released afterward. Happening In The Suburbs At 8:20 a.m. Wednesday, ICE agents were seen on Prospect Boulevard and near Trout Park in suburban Elgin, according to Elgin Area Rapid Response. On Wednesday morning, three ICE agents detained at least one person in south Oak Park, according to the West Suburban Action Project. Support Freedom of the Press Independent journalism like this only exists because of readers like you. This World Press Freedom Day, help Block Club raise $20,000 to fuel high-impact investigations that hold Chicago’s institutions and leaders accountable. Make your tax-deductible donation here. Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast: Search Results placeholder Post navigation