Chicago City Wire

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on X that a suspected MS-13 gang member wanted for homicide was arrested in Chicago during Operation Midway Blitz.

According to NBC Chicago, ICE arrested a man in the Chicago area suspected of being a member of the transnational criminal gang MS-13. The arrest took place as part of Operation Midway Blitz, a newly launched federal immigration enforcement campaign targeting individuals with violent criminal histories who are unlawfully present in the United States. ICE officials said the individual had an active homicide warrant and had been living in the U.S. illegally, with the arrest serving as an early result of the wider enforcement effort.

The suspect arrested during Operation Midway Blitz was identified by ICE as a 29-year-old Salvadoran national previously removed from the U.S. on four separate occasions. Authorities allege that he reentered the country unlawfully and had a pending warrant for a homicide committed in El Salvador. ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) unit said the arrest illustrates the operation’s emphasis on locating and detaining individuals who pose "a serious threat to public safety," particularly those associated with violent international gangs.

The MS-13 gang, or Mara Salvatrucha, is considered one of the most violent transnational criminal organizations operating in the United States and Central America. A 2022 FBI Threat Assessment found that MS-13 is responsible for a range of violent crimes, including murder, assault, drug trafficking, and human trafficking, often targeting immigrant communities and rival gangs. The U.S. Department of Justice has classified MS-13 as a "priority transnational criminal organization" due to its structured hierarchy, international connections, and pattern of brutal enforcement tactics, including machete killings and coordinated extortion schemes.

ICE is a federal agency operating under the Department of Homeland Security, tasked with enforcing federal laws governing border control, customs, trade, and immigration. ICE carries out criminal investigations through its Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division and civil immigration enforcement through Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).