Most of those arrested were swiftly shuttled to a sprawling array of detention centers in 13 states, many with reports of troubling conditions.

Minutes later, Bovino started arguing with Evanston mayor and congressional candidate Daniel Biss at the store’s parking lot about whether the agents had a warrant to conduct arrests. Bystanders continued yelling and blowing whistles as agents loaded a man in a black hoodie into their vans.

Senior Border Patrol official Greg Bovino has returned to the Chicago area, about a month after leaving to lead immigration crackdowns in other cities.

Tear gas appeared to be deployed during Tuesday's crackdown, which community members say netted at least 15 people across the area.

A brazen encounter between a Chicago woman and federal immigration agents has sparked widespread concern about law enforcement practices and civil liberties protections in immigrant communities. The incident took place Tuesday morning in the Brighton Park neighbourhood on the city’s Southwest Side,

A month after the immigration teams packed up and pulled out of Chicago for other cities, they have come back this week and resumed making arrests of allegedly undocumented immigrants.

Community groups say at least 15 people were arrested, including an immigrant living in the U.S. without legal permission, who the Department of Homeland Security says has a criminal history and damaged a Border Patrol vehicle with a rock.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General is conducting an audit of the Chicago Housing Authority to scrutinize its procedures around verifying residents’ immigration status and criminal backgrounds, according to documents obtained by the Sun-Times.