Lawsuits filed against Border Patrol for ‘excessive' force as advocates warn of immigration enforcement uptick

CHICAGO - For lawyer Brian Orozco, it's personal. When federal agents deployed tear gas at protesters in Brighton Park on Oct. 4, after they had shot a woman, the gas hit Orozco's face as he stood on a sidewalk. Orozco said it was like he couldn't breathe.

"My eyes were burning, but my lungs were burning more," Orozco said.

Now, he stands in community with five other families hit with tear gas and violence from federal agents in Chicago during last fall's Operation Midway Blitz, representing them as they sue the federal agency for $1 million each.

The lawsuits come as residents and immigration activists are sounding the alarm about heightened immigration enforcement activity in Chicago, particularly on the Southwest Side in Brighton Park and Back of the Yards. Orozco stood at a news conference Thursday afternoon in New City with local nonprofits who are spreading the word about the uptick in immigration arrests, which has brought back fear and trauma to communities that bore the brunt of President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement operation last year.

"I identify with my clients: the pain, the fear, the frustration, the anger," Orozco said. He said he was lawfully observing a protest when he was tear-gassed. "We were helping to de-escalate peaceful protest, definitely weren't doing anything wrong. It was completely unprovoked, completely unnecessary."

The five new independent lawsuits were filed July 1 in the Northern District of Illinois federal court, all represented by Orozco and Gregory E. Kulis & Associates. The suits speak of tear-gassing and other confrontations during the height of Operation Midway Blitz. Each, in its own circumstances, claims a violation of Fourth Amendment rights by Border Patrol agents and the use of "excessive, unprovoked, and unreasonable" force, according to the lawsuits.

U.S. Border Patrol did not return the Tribune's email request for comment regarding the lawsuits.

Immigration advocates say the recent increase in immigration arrests brings back memories of the operation that began last September when Border Patrol agents swarmed Chicagoland and, over the course of 64 days, arrested immigrants and U.S. citizens alike, often with unmarked cars, masked maces and the use of force.

But advocates say that agents now operate differently than during Midway Blitz. The enforcement, often conducted by ICE rather than Border Patrol, is more stealthy, they say.

Marcela Rodriguez, executive director of Enlace Chicago, described the federal agents as more "under the radar" than in the fall, both in force and presence.

"We know things are happening," Rodriguez said. "They're not as loud in their efforts as they were, but they are happening."

She said the relative quiet has prompted a different kind of fear within Chicago neighborhoods. Without large caravans of vehicles, cameras and helicopters, as Rodriguez observed in the fall, it is harder for neighbors to sound the alarm that ICE is near.

"I do believe that that may increase the anxiety and the fear as we're hearing more things happening," Rodriguez said.

Enlace Chicago had already tracked 17 arrests this week, beginning July 6. The week before, beginning June 29, there were 20 known immigration arrests within Chicago's limits, Rodriguez said.

The arrests have also caught the attention of Mayor Brandon Johnson, who posted about the uptick on X Thursday.

"Our city has experienced an increase in ICE enforcement activity in recent weeks. Now is the time to stand united, support our neighbors, and ensure no one faces fear or uncertainty alone," Johnson said in the post. "Our office will continue to monitor and respond to any actions that put our residents in danger and destabilize communities."

For Orozco, the lawsuits are one way his clients can push back against the fear and intimidation.

"All these cases mean so much to me. My community is under attack, literally and figuratively," Orozco said. "No one is safe. I got tear-gassed, and I was wearing a suit and a tie."

Two of his clients were at the same Brighton Park location where agents threw tear gas against a crowd of bystanders on the sidewalk near 4000 S. Kedzie Ave.

Eduardo Guillen said in his lawsuit that federal agents in a blue truck deployed pepper spray onto him while he was standing on the sidewalk. Jennifer Lydia Crespo said she was hit with tear gas and flashbang grenades from different federal agents while maintaining a peaceful protest on the sidewalk, according to her lawsuit.

And two other tear gas confrontations prompted two other lawsuits, Orozco said. Federal agents allegedly threw a tear-gas grenade at rapid response volunteers Estefany and Ezequiel Magdelano while they were in their car, alerting the Back of the Yards neighborhood of immigration enforcement on Oct. 3, according to their lawsuit. And Rafael Veraza and his 1-year-old daughter were tear-gassed on Nov. 8 in a Sam's Club parking lot in Cicero, according to his lawsuit.

Jose Dominguez recorded his Nov. 6, 2025, interaction with federal agents. He is suing U.S. Border Patrol in a civil lawsuit for $1 million. (Jose Dominguez) The fifth lawsuit alleges that Border Patrol agents kicked, kneed and choked Jose Dominguez on Nov. 6, a scene captured in video footage.

"What are you going to do? I am a U.S. citizen!" Dominguez shouted as the footage showed two masked federal agents hastily and aggressively approaching his car.

The officers reach through Dominguez's open window and rip the door open before forcefully dragging him from the driver's seat. The video, released by Gregory E. Kulis & Associates, cuts off abruptly with Dominguez on the ground.

"These officers are just out of hand and there's no accountability," Orozco said.

Orozco is one of three attorneys and one paralegal who are co-counsel, representing the five cases, he said. The case is not pro bono, meaning that the attorneys do get a certain percentage of any money won from the five cases. However, Orozco reiterated that money was not his motivation to represent these Fourth Amendment cases.

"My whole goal is accountability. I want all these officers to answer for what they've done," Orozco said. "It's the closest thing to justice that we can get right now."

Meanwhile, immigrant advocates warn communities to stay vigilant. Though enforcement may be less visible, it has never stopped, they say.

"I want to be clear that Midway Blitz never ended. ICE agents just continued their operations here; they never ended," said Berto Aguayo, founder of Increase the Peace. "What we're seeing here is an increase in that surge. We're already seeing those agents right here in our communities."

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