the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Oct 13, 2025
In the middle of the night on the last day of September, 300 federal agents swarmed a five-story apartment building in South Shore, a black neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. Some agents rappelled onto the top of the building from Blackhawk helicopters, while others cut through the fence of a school to access a parking lot next to the building. Agents proceeded to break down nearly every door of the building, arresting 37 people in total.
Those arrested included at least four children, who were handcuffed with zip-ties and thrown into the back of a U-Haul, without clothing.
The Border Patrol, which carried out the operation, claimed they were going after supposed members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang—their usual cover story of going after “the worst of the worst”—who, needless to say, do not include young children or babies. “They treated us like we were nothing,” Pertissue Fisher told ABC 7 Chicago. “It was scary because I’ve never had a gun put in my face.” Fisher said she came into the hallway of her building at 10 PM, was put in handcuffs by agents, and was not released until 3 AM Tuesday.
The city had placed a number of recent Venezuelan immigrants in the building. But so far, more than a week later, few facts about those still in custody have come out.
The Department of Homeland Security did make a slick, one-minute video that made the raid out to be something like a movie or a video game, with Greg Bovino, a right-wing Border Patrol leader, in a starring role.
A reporter came by the building the next day and found they could just walk around, because all the doors were still open. Residents found many of their belongings had been plundered.
This open assault on basic democratic rights has made it clear that the black population is targeted by Trump’s authoritarian goons, alongside the largely Latino immigrants who have suffered the brunt of ICE and Border Patrol activity so far. It shows that the whole working class is in this administration’s crosshairs.