An attorney representing Illinois residents who have filed claims against the federal government over last year's sweeping immigration enforcement operation in Chicago has told Newsweek he believes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will be held accountable "very, very soon." Speaking Friday after the announcement of 15 Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) filings from American citizens and a green card holder over Operation Midway Blitz, Antonio Romanucci of Romanucci & Blandin said he felt there was enough video and photographic evidence of alleged excessive force by federal agents to secure convictions. While federal law largely protects federal agents from prosecution, the FTCA does give a route to court hearings, depending on how the federal agency involved responds.
"I anticipate that in the very near future there will be additional accountability that our administration and certain individuals will have to account for," Romanucci said. "Their day will come in terms of having to answer directly, not only to litigation, but to the American public, as to what their statements meant, when these activities occurred, and they will have to account for everything that they have done to unleash this state-sponsored terrorism from our own government into our American cities…and I anticipate that it will come very, very soon." The operation in Illinois last year became one of the most heavily scrutinized immigration enforcement operations under the second Trump administration. Midway Blitz saw hundreds of federal agents descend on Chicago and its surrounding communities, sparking weeks of protests, confrontations between federal agents, local law enforcement and locals and legal challenges.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says the operation detained more than 4,500 immigrants. Critics alleged that agents used excessive force, including during the detention of United States citizens exercising their right to protest and record operations. Federal officials, including former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, defended agents and repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
"I do believe very strongly that when we present the facts, and we show the force that was used against ordinary citizens, that we will be able to prove that it was excessive, just by evidence of the video and the compelling testimony of our clients, indicating that they were not violent," Romanucci said. "They did not use force against the federal agents." According to the legal teams behind the 15 filings, the claimants include journalists and U.S. citizens. The announcement listed Juan Munoz, an Oak Park elected official, and Leigh Kunkel, a journalist who was documenting protests.
Jennifer Moriarty, an attorney, was also included, with all claiming unlawful detention, force, or other rights violations. "As a citizen and elected official who had their rights violated, what happened to me has changed how I understand the responsibility that comes with public office," Muñoz said in a press release. "That silence makes abuses of power easier to repeat and grow.
"I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution. That day, I watched people who had done the same violate the very rights the Constitution guarantees," he said. "Constitutional rights do not depend on your name, your skin color, your citizenship, your political beliefs, or whether anyone is watching." Kyle Frankovich, another claimant, called for accountability from "the very top of DHS leadership to the individuals who terrorized my city and my neighbors," and alleged that families had been harmed in the process.
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