State-Sanctioned Kidnapping? ICE Raids in Chicago Tear Through Black Communities?

Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood wasn’t raided. It was invaded. In the dead of night, federal agents ICE, FBI, Border Patrol, ATF stormed an apartment complex, zip-tying men, dragging mothers from their homes, and terrifying children.

The Department of Homeland Security wants to dress it up as “Operation Midway Blitz” — a so-called crackdown on “criminal noncitizens.” But the reality, documented in viral TikToks, frantic tweets, and eyewitness testimony, is far uglier: American citizens and Black residents were unlawfully detained.

And when you hold someone against their will without lawful cause? Let’s call it what it is: kidnapping.

The TikTok Receipts

Social media has become the evidence file. Videos from South Shore tell the story DHS won’t:

• Zip ties on citizens. Residents who’ve lived in Chicago their entire lives, restrained like criminals while agents ran “warrant checks.”

• Parents separated from children. Kids sobbing as they watched their mothers and fathers dragged into the hallway in cuffs.

• No explanation. No warrants. No probable cause. Just force first, paperwork later.

One man’s words in a viral clip cut to the core:“We’re being invaded by our own military. Except they’re not our military — they’re our oppressors.”

Citizens Are Not Exempt

This isn’t speculation. There are confirmed cases of U.S. citizens being detained during these raids:

• Rodrick Johnson, a Chicago-born citizen, says he was zip-tied, dragged from his home, and held for nearly three hours. He begged for a lawyer. He was ignored.

• In nearby Elgin, two U.S. citizens were wrongfully detained before being released when they proved their identity.

• On X, one user (@Malharree) posted: “ICE seized my aunt last night. Please, please don’t ignore this.” Hours later, the aunt was released — proof that ICE is detaining people first, checking facts later.

When U.S. citizens are restrained in their homes, treated like suspects, and “released” only after proving their innocence — that is kidnapping with badges.

Why “Kidnapping” Fits

The government hides behind technicalities, calling these detentions “processing” or “checks.” But let’s look at the plain definition:

• Kidnapping: to take and hold someone against their will, without lawful justification.

No warrant. No probable cause. No due process. That’s unlawful. That’s kidnapping.

If it looks like kidnapping, feels like kidnapping, and traumatizes families like kidnapping — then that’s exactly what it is.

Trauma as Policy

The South Shore raid wasn’t just about arrests. It was about sending a message: fear.

• Children now live with the image of their parents zip-tied on the floor.

• Families live behind shattered doors, wondering if the agents will come back.

• Communities already struggling with systemic injustice are left with the truth that citizenship itself won’t protect them from state violence.

This wasn’t safety. This was terror — by design.

The Bigger Picture

Operation Midway Blitz is marketed as a crackdown on undocumented criminals. But what’s really happening is mass sweeps in Black and immigrant neighborhoods, carried out like military strikes.

Constitutional rights — due process, the Fourth Amendment — were treated as optional. Citizens were detained, families ripped apart, and people’s lives put on pause for “verification.”

That is not justice. That is oppression.

Chicago just witnessed the dangerous reality of unchecked federal power: if ICE and the FBI can storm a Black neighborhood, zip-tie citizens, and call it “law enforcement,” then none of us are safe.

We need to stop repeating the government’s language. This wasn’t just a raid. This was kidnapping sanctioned by the state.

And the people who lived it aren’t confused. They know exactly what it was.