ICE Admits 81% of Operation Midway Blitz Arrests Had No Convictions — and Falsely Claims No Citizens Were Arrested

In response to a letter from Sen. Dick Durbin and the Illinois congressional delegation, ICE disclosed that 3,739 of 4,570 people arrested during "Operation Midway Blitz" — the federal immigration sweep that ran from September 5, 2025 to February 17, 2026 — had no criminal convictions, contradicting federal claims that the operation targeted "the worst of the worst." The agency also asserted no U.S. citizens were arrested, a claim disputed by documentation of at least 40 citizen detentions in Illinois alone and ProPublica's national tally of roughly 170 citizens detained in the first nine months of enforcement. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons has since announced he will resign effective May 31, 2026.