Federal immigration agents arrested 21 people in targeted operations in Springfield and Peoria, in central Illinois, between Monday, October 26 and Wednesday, October 28, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confirmed. DHS told WCIA that those arrested had final orders of removal and will remain in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody until they are removed from the United States.
Source: WCIA
The confirmation, reported by WCIA on Thursday, October 29, ends three days of rumours and fear in Springfield, the Illinois state capital, where residents told a city council meeting on Tuesday night that federal agents were operating in the city and that families were making emergency plans in case a parent was detained.
What DHS says happened
According to DHS officials speaking to WCIA, ICE agents conducted what the department called 'targeted operations' in the two cities over the three days. DHS said the 21 people arrested had final orders of removal — meaning an immigration judge had already ordered them deported — and that they will receive due process while remaining in ICE custody until removal.
DHS said the criminal histories of those arrested include, in the department's words, attempted first-degree murder, predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, kidnapping with a firearm, home invasion with a firearm, aggravated battery, prostitution, domestic violence, fraud and driving under the influence. Those histories are DHS's account of the group as a whole: the department did not name the 21 people or say which history belongs to which person, and Awaaz Punjab is reporting the list as an official allegation about the group, not as verified charges against any individual.
Source: WCIA
The children's clinic rumour — and the official denial
Part of the fear in Springfield centred on a claim that agents had made arrests at Ivy Rehab for Kids, a children's therapy clinic in the city, on October 28. DHS denied that directly: officials said ICE made no arrests at the clinic and that ICE does not target healthcare facilities.
In the same statement, DHS called the clinic claim 'just another false narrative to try and demonize our brave ICE law enforcement,' and said its officers are facing what it described as a 1,600% increase in assaults and an 8,000% increase in death threats. Those percentages are the department's own figures, given to WCIA, and were not independently verified in the station's report.
Source: WCIA
Springfield pushes back at city hall
The local reaction was already public before DHS confirmed the number. At Tuesday's Springfield city council meeting, reported by Capitol City Now, Alderwoman Jennifer Notariano told the meeting: 'The Springfield Police Department cannot and will not work with them,' referring to ICE. Springfield police did not respond to the outlet's request for comment that evening.
Source: Capitol City Now
Julio Barrenzuela, a Navy veteran and naturalised U.S. citizen who lives in Springfield, told the council he now carries his passport with him, on advice circulating in the Latino community. 'Latino families here are sharing emergency contacts, lawyers' numbers, and plans for their children if a parent is detained the next few days,' he said, adding that a friend of his had seen five members of their community detained over the previous two days. His account was given at the council meeting and is reported here as his statement.
Source: Capitol City Now
Springfield is the Illinois capital and sits on Interstate 55, the main Chicago–St Louis trucking corridor; Peoria, about 75 miles north-east, is a river and manufacturing city on Interstate 74. Federal operations in mid-sized heartland cities — not only in Chicago or on the border — are the pattern immigrant families across the Midwest, including Punjabi and other South Asian families who work in trucking, warehouses and small businesses along these corridors, say they are now planning around.
Background: how 'targeted' operations work
ICE describes operations of this kind as targeted enforcement against named individuals with final removal orders, rather than neighbourhood sweeps. A final order of removal is issued by an immigration judge; once it is final and any appeals are exhausted, ICE is authorised to carry out the deportation. People arrested in such operations are typically held in ICE custody while travel documents and removal flights or ground transport are arranged.
Illinois is also a state where cooperation between local police and federal immigration enforcement is politically contested. Springfield's council heard that message directly this week: city police said through their alderwoman that they will not work with ICE, while the federal department insists its officers are enforcing court-issued orders against people with serious criminal histories. Both positions were stated publicly within the same 48 hours.
What happens next
DHS says the 21 will remain in ICE custody until they are removed, and it has not released their names, nationalities, detention locations or removal dates. No local court dates arise from the arrests themselves, because removal under a final order is an immigration process, not a new criminal case. Residents in Springfield told their council the immediate effect is practical: families keeping documents on hand, sharing lawyers' numbers and arranging who collects children if a parent does not come home.
Awaaz Punjab will update this story if DHS releases names or a fuller breakdown of the Springfield and Peoria arrests, or if city or state officials issue a formal response to the operation.