On September 9, 2025, President Trump launched Operation Midway Blitz, a federal crackdown on undocumented immigrants in Chicago that quickly expanded across Illinois and into Lake County, Indiana. Led by ICE, the operation targeted undocumented individuals with criminal records in sanctuary cities. Its epicenter was the ICE Processing Facility in Broadview, a village of fewer than 8,000 residents west of Chicago.
Federal agents unlock the gate each morning to remove the posters put up on the front of the security fencing surrounding the front entrance of the ICE detention facility on Beach Street in Broadview, IL, USA. Since the start of September, protesters have returned to this facility to attempt to block operations tied to enforcement sweeps.
Alexandra Buxbaum © All rights reserved.
A Veteran waves an American flag at federal agents as they fire tear gas and pepper pellets at the protesters at the side entrance of the ICE detention facility on 25th street and Harvard in Broadview, IL, USA. Since early September, protesters have returned to this facility to attempt to block operations tied to enforcement sweeps.
Alexandra Buxbaum © All rights reserved.
The facility drew weekly protests, which intensified after ICE fatally shot Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez on September 12. Clergy, activists, and community members converged, and clashes escalated. Federal agents used tear gas and pepper bullets, some fired from rooftops, against protesters and journalists.
In response, Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson issued an executive order limiting protest hours to 9AM–6PM and installed concrete barriers to create “safety zones.”
By October, Broadview police coordinated with state troopers and sheriff’s deputies to enforce restrictions and maintain access to the facility.
A few armed Federal agents remove the posters put up on the front of the fencing surrounding the front entrance of the ICE detention facility on Beach Street in Broadview, IL, USA. Since the start of September, protesters have returned to this facility to attempt to block operations tied to enforcement sweeps.
Alexandra Buxbaum © All rights reserved.
Mayor Thompson publicly condemned ICE, urging it to “stop making war” in her town. Meanwhile, the Chicago News Guild, joined by clergy and journalists, filed a federal lawsuit accusing ICE of violating First Amendment protections through a “pattern of extreme brutality.”
Sheriff’s police detain a protester outside the ICE Detention Center on 25th Street and Harvard in Broadview, IL, USA. Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson set hours for the protest from 9AM to 6PM and within designated protest zones behind concrete barriers.
Alexandra Buxbaum © All rights reserved.
Protesters continue to demonstrate on Fridays outside the ICE Detention Center at 25th Street and Harvard in Broadview, IL, USA. Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson set hours of protest from 9 AM to 6PM and within designated protest zones behind concrete barriers.
Alexandra Buxbaum © All rights reserved.
Members of the clergy are among the protesters blocking the driveway to prevent ICE vehicles from leaving via the side entrance of the ICE detention facility on 25th Street and Harvard in Broadview, IL, USA. Since early September, protesters have returned to this facility to attempt to block operations tied to enforcement sweeps.
Alexandra Buxbaum © All rights reserved.
A protester picks up a tear gas canister to throw back at federal agents at the side entrance of the ICE detention facility on 25th Street and Harvard Street in Broadview, IL, USA.
Alexandra Buxbaum © All rights reserved.
Alexandra Buxbaum
A protester overcome with tear gas gets his eyes flushed out with water by a fellow protester at the side entrance of the ICE detention facility on 25th street and Harvard in Broadview, IL, USA.
Alexandra Buxbaum © All rights reserved.
Alexandra Buxbaum is a visual storyteller whose work has appeared in leading national and international publications. With more than 85 exhibitions in galleries, cultural centers, photo festivals, and museums, she has built a reputation as a respected voice in contemporary photography. Her lectures and artist talks have been hosted by institutions such as the Clifton Cultural Arts Center, Triton College, Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods, and the City Colleges of Chicago.
Protesters shout at vehicles arriving at the ICE detention facility on 25th Street and Harvard in Broadview, IL, USA. In October, the Broadview Mayor issued executive orders to limit protest activity near the ICE facility after demonstrations grew chaotic and led to multiple arrests. Concrete barriers were installed, and protests are restricted to designated “safety zones.”
Alexandra Buxbaum © All rights reserved.
Photo: Broadview’s Stand #5
Federal agents fire tear gas and pepper pellets at the protesters at the side entrance of the ICE detention facility on 25th street and Harvard to block ICE cars from entering and leaving at the ICE detention facility on Beach Street in Broadview, IL, USA. Since the start of September, protesters have returned to this facility to attempt to block operations tied to enforcement sweeps.
Alexandra Buxbaum © All rights reserved.
In 2022, Alexandra was honored as an invited artist for the U.S. Department of State’s Art in Embassies Program to the U.S. Embassy in Bujumbura, Burundi and has been the recipient of awards such as the IPOTY and Moscow International Foto Awards, Analog Sparks International Film Photography Awards, NCOA Merit Award, Paris Photo Prize, and the Monovisions Black & White Photography Awards.
Protesters swarm and beat their hands on an incoming ICE vehicle in an attempt to block it from entering at the side entrance of the ICE detention facility on 25th street and Harvard, Broadview, IL, USA.
Alexandra Buxbaum © All rights reserved.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement put a fence around the ICE detention facility on Beach Street in Broadview, IL, USA. The Broadview Fire Department has reached out to Homeland Security, stating that the structure was “illegally built” on a public street, blocking firefighters in an emergency, and demanding that the fencing be removed immediately.
Alexandra Buxbaum © All rights reserved.