Underwood Condemns DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Operation Midway Blitz, in Speech Delivered from House Floor

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday, Rep. Lauren Underwood, Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, delivered the following speech from the House floor:

“I rise today because what happened in Illinois during Operation Midway Blitz can never happen again. 

The last time this chamber convened before House Republicans took an 8-week vacation was September 19th.

So, this is the first chance I’ve had to address the House about the outrageous abuses of power our community has endured for the past two months. 

Under Kristi Noem’s so-called leadership, Department of Homeland Security agents have terrorized my district. 

Their reckless and incompetent methods have traumatized families and endangered entire neighborhoods. 

No community in America should live under siege by the federal government, as mine has.

Federal immigration officers and National Guard personnel, weaponized and politicized by the Trump Administration, swept into my district with no communication, no coordination, no transparency, no accountability, and no regard for public safety.

They came barging into our towns, ignored our laws, and trampled on our civil and human rights. 

In Aurora, a federal agent pepper sprayed a constituent of mine directly in the face from inches away, while she was standing completely still with her hands at her sides, unarmed.  

Elsewhere in my district, we heard reports that federal officers used an elementary school as a staging area, positioning armed tactical teams on school grounds in full view of children. 

Parents are afraid to leave their homes after hearing about neighbors abducted by masked agents while walking their kids to school, leaving the children unattended by the side of the road. 

Workers fear going to their jobs, our economy is suffering, and local businesses have seen foot traffic collapse.

Because, despite the Trump Administration’s claims of targeting “the worst of the worst,” their immigration enforcement operations have been a chaotic mess—sweeping up U.S. citizens, legal immigrants, and people with no criminal record.

I was horrified when federal agents rappelled down from helicopters to a Chicago apartment complex in the middle of the night, smashed windows and doors, threw flash-bang grenades, dragged children from their beds, and zip-tied and detained U.S. citizens for hours.

And yet, after all that, federal prosecutors have not filed criminal charges against anyone detained that night. 

And in a recent court filing, DHS listed 614 people arrested as part of Operation Midway Blitz—and only 16 of them have criminal histories of any kind. That’s 2.6%. 

The other 598 people have no criminal record!

What’s happening in Illinois is called racial profiling. 

Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol agent who led Operation Midway Blitz, literally told a reporter that agents arrest people based on, quote, “how they look.”  

Masked officers are violently targeting people, including U.S. citizens, because their brown skin and black hair make them seem suspicious.

This is a complete failure. Our Founding Fathers warned us about this type of government overreach after seeing how a desperate king’s troops could trample on our unalienable right to LIBERTY.

And yet, as we approach our 250th birthday, we are confronting a similar tyranny.

That’s not all—many of those arrested were essentially disappeared. Members of Congress could not get basic information from DHS about where they took our constituents. 

During the Republican shutdown, DHS leadership chose to furlough the liaisons we rely on to locate detainees and resolve urgent casework. 

When a constituent reached out because her husband was denied access to medical care in a detention facility, my office’s emails bounced back, and our calls went unanswered. Weeks later, I’m still waiting for a response.

But the shutdown didn’t stop DHS agents from harassing citizens and using force on peaceful protesters, because the Administration deemed these violent tactics “essential.”

That was not an accident. That was a policy choice. 

This is not what legitimate law enforcement looks like. 

Operation Midway Blitz disregarded Illinois state laws, federal laws, and the U.S. Constitution.

Due process—a foundational constitutional right for ALL people in this country—went out the window. Local police and officials were kept in the dark. People were snatched off the streets seemingly at random.

Many of my constituents felt like they were being hunted, because of the language they speak or the color of their skin. Simply because they needed to run an errand at the hardware store or walk their kids to school.

This is not about public safety. When the President has the power to terrorize American communities for his political purposes, it makes us all less safe, and less free.

The people of Illinois deserve answers—and Americans deserve better.”

Footage of Underwood’s speech can be viewed here.