Federal immigration agents raided a South Shore apartment building earlier this year, exposing hazardous living conditions that later prompted a judge to order an emergency eviction of all remaining tenants.
CBS News Chicago documented conditions inside the building after the Sept. 30 raid, showing busted apartment doors, dark hallways with no lighting, and standing water pooled on floors.
Residents said federal agents zip-tied occupants and detained dozens of people during what authorities described as a targeted immigration enforcement operation.
One resident told CBS News Chicago his boyfriend was zip-tied and taken onto a bus, while other accounts said women and children were among those escorted into vans staged near a nearby school.
Federal officials later said it is standard protocol to briefly detain everyone inside a large building during enforcement operations in order to maintain safety.
Authorities said 37 people were detained during the raid.
The apartment building, located near 75th Street and South Shore Drive, later entered foreclosure.
A Cook County judge subsequently described the property as a “fire trap” and approved an emergency eviction request filed by the building’s owner.
The court ordered all tenants to vacate the property by Friday, Dec. 12.
Residents attempted to block or delay the move-out deadline earlier this week, arguing they did not have sufficient time, money, or resources to relocate.
Tenants also cited the approach of extreme cold weather and the holidays as factors making the eviction especially difficult.
In an effort to stop or delay the eviction, residents formed a tenant union and challenged the order in court.
Mayor Brandon Johnson sent a letter requesting a delay of the eviction deadline.
The judge denied the request.
Tenants said they were offered between $1,500 and $5,000 in relocation assistance.
Several residents said the payments were not enough to secure affordable housing on short notice.
“Most of them are just hotline numbers that you’re gonna sit on the phone with for an hour or so,” resident Darren Hightower said. “Trying to find relocation, get a case manager to help you out with your situation. It’s tough.”
By Friday afternoon, fewer than 10 tenants remained inside the building.
Some residents handed over their keys as crews and outreach workers stood by.
“This is the worst day of my life right now,” resident Winifred Johnson said. “Worst day of my life.”
Johnson, a military veteran, said he had lived in the building for five months before being forced to leave.
“I don’t have nowhere to go,” Johnson said. “It’s going to really be freezing tomorrow, and that’s the main thing, just trying to get somewhere warm and safe.”
The eviction unfolded as federal immigration enforcement activity drew attention elsewhere in the Midwest.
In Minnesota, federal authorities said a Department of Homeland Security Investigations agent was briefly kidnapped Wednesday during an attempted arrest at an apartment complex in Plymouth, CBS News reported.
According to a federal criminal complaint, agents were conducting surveillance on a man accused of overstaying his student visa when they approached him and identified themselves.
Authorities said the man jumped into a vehicle and told a woman to drive away.
One agent entered the front passenger seat in an attempt to stop the vehicle, while another agent tried to pull the suspect out.
The woman drove off with the agent still inside, prompting him to fear he was being abducted, according to the complaint.
The agent eventually drew his firearm and ordered the woman to stop, but she continued driving.
The vehicle was later pinned by other federal agents outside the New Hope Police Department.
The man fled into a nearby grocery store, where he was arrested.
The woman was also taken into custody.
Both individuals were charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers.
The incident occurred as Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted a broader operation targeting Somali immigrants in the Twin Cities.
