"The tips pour in at all hours: sightings of agents in all parts of Chicago. Many of them are masked, in the city to find undocumented immigrants. They move quickly, but sometimes, Garcia Hernandez - whose beat is the largely Latino neighborhoods of Pilsen, Little Village and Back of the Yards but whose coverage area has since expanded - gathers just enough information to make it to the aftermath of a raid."
"Operation Midway Blitz - a federal operation run by the Department of Homeland Security - has put the entire city on edge since its start Sept. 8. As agents tear gas crowds, chase people down streets and raid homes, local journalists are left scrambling to cover a wide-ranging operation that affects their own communities. It is relentless work, made more difficult by the federal government's unpredictability and lack of transparency."
Federal agents arrived in Chicago in early September under Operation Midway Blitz, searching for undocumented immigrants across the city. Tips about masked agents pour in around the clock from multiple neighborhoods. Journalists who covered Pilsen, Little Village and Back of the Yards have expanded beats to chase aftermaths of raids and face nonstop, unpredictable work. Sources express fear, often refusing to share names or identities. Agents have tear-gassed crowds, chased people, raided homes, detained citizens for hours and used pepper balls and rubber pellets against media workers, producing alarming images of children and displaced families.
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