According to a WIRED report based on newly released documents, Chicago-area law enforcement officers took part in an undercover Homeland Security Investigations probe into Minnesota anti-ICE activists last spring. The operation fed a federal conspiracy investigation that has led to felony charges against 15 Twin Cities activists for resisting Operation Metro Surge.
The documents describe a joint task force of six local cops and eight HSI agents that surveilled an April 2 talk at a Chicago gallery. They used two undercover agents, audio recordings, license-plate-reader data, and Chicago's sprawling CCTV network to identify attendees and link them to other anti-ICE protests. The report, titled "Antifa Roadshow," was released by the activists' defense team as part of the ongoing federal case.
The cooperation raises questions about local police involvement in federal investigations that critics say veer into political repression. Illinois law bars local law enforcement from participating in immigration enforcement, but HSI criminal investigations may fall outside that restriction. Chicago police say no First Amendment notifications were made for the April 2 operation, and they maintain their work with HSI was permitted because it pertained to criminal enforcement, not immigration.
The case also highlights HSI's expanding role in investigating dissent, including a recent search warrant served on Representative Ilhan Omar. Surveillance details from the April 2 event were included in the federal indictment against the Minnesota 15, tying the Chicago-area officers to the controversial prosecution.