CHICAGO — Early in the morning of Oct. 1, while residents across Chicago slept, federal agents employed by Border Patrol, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives raided a South Shore Chicago apartment building located at 7500 S. Shore Drive – arresting 37 people and unconstitutionally detaining American citizens who live in the building for hours. After conducting an onsite press conference with local community organizations the day of the raid, State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) further released the following statement in response:

“The raid in South Shore represents a dangerous escalation from this federal administration to use our Black and Brown communities as military training grounds in their terror-based campaign.”

“These militarized raids are traumatic experiences that shatter the lives of families, instill fear in our children and shred the very foundation of our constitutional rights. We are talking about everyday working people – grandparents, parents and children – who will live with the trauma of this brutality for the rest of their lives. These are our neighbors, our colleagues and our friends who had the doors ripped off their homes, their personal possessions stolen and their rights violated.”

“The answer to public safety isn’t doubling down on harmful militarized stunts that violate our residents’ constitutional rights and sense of safety in their own homes. Public safety is investing in the people in our communities – in our health care, in our education and in our workforce. 

“I stand with my South Side neighbors who demand answers, accountability and respect from this federal administration. The time to act is now, and we demand an end to inhumane, authoritarian attacks on our residents. This goes beyond being a fight for justice – this is a fight to preserve our humanity and our solidarity in the face of such brutality.”