Chicago is the latest battleground in the federal fight to restore law and order, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Operation Midway Blitz has swept through neighborhoods in September and into October, resulting in hundreds of arrests as authorities pursue criminal aliens and repeat offenders. The surge has sparked chaotic confrontations on streets and at detention facilities, and it has exposed the dangerous gap between federal enforcement priorities and local political theater.
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling deserves credit for speaking plainly about the line that was crossed when violent left-wing agitators and Antifa elements began physically interfering with ICE operations and surrounding federal agents. Snelling publicly warned that ramming vehicles or mobbing law-enforcement personnel can be met with deadly force and made clear CPD will not obstruct federal duties while also working to keep the peace. Those are not the words of a bureaucrat bending to politics; they are the words of someone prioritizing officer safety and public order.
It’s reassuring to hear a police chief call out mob behavior instead of issuing vague statements that excuse or minimize criminal conduct. The same activists who chant about “abolishing ICE” are the ones who put officers and bystanders at risk by trying to turn enforcement into a street spectacle, and any responsible leader must call that out. Snelling’s blunt reminders about consequences were overdue and show what leadership looks like when confronted with lawlessness.
Meanwhile, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s new “ICE-free” executive orders and the Democratic reflex to sanctify obstruction over safety have only deepened the contradiction in Chicago’s approach to public safety. Federal efforts and even out-of-state National Guard deployments were justified by the need to protect communities from criminal aliens, and yet local politicians stoke outrage instead of addressing the security gap their policies create. The theater of defiance plays well in headlines but does not protect victims or restore trust in public safety.
The reality on the ground shows why federal action was deemed necessary: Operation Midway Blitz has uncovered dangerous individuals and revealed how sanctuary policies can complicate removals of convicted offenders, even as critics point to incidents that must be handled with due process and care. Conservatives are right to warn against lawlessness on both sides—the federal government must operate within the rule of law, and local officials must stop sanctimonious posturing that emboldens radicals to obstruct lawful operations. This isn’t about politics; it’s about whether Chicagoans can walk the streets without fear.
If anything good can come from these clashes it is a renewed clarity: the protection of officers and the enforcement of immigration laws are not mutually exclusive and both are essential to public safety. Leaders like Superintendent Snelling who refuse to kowtow to violent agitators should be backed up by both city and state officials, not undermined by lawyers and ideologues who prioritize symbolism over substance. The country needs common-sense enforcement and respect for the rule of law, and Chicago’s recent turmoil is a stark reminder of the cost when those priorities are abandoned.
