Ben Bergquam’s latest Law & Border report shines a spotlight on the ICE operations in Chicago, where agents are tasked with removing convicted criminals who entered the country illegally. But instead of gratitude, the agents—and Bergquam—were met with middle fingers and verbal abuse from residents defending people they know nothing about. Meanwhile, comedian Terrence Williams cuts deeper, blasting Chicago’s political leadership for ignoring daily carnage in Black neighborhoods while clinging to divisive rhetoric about slavery and Trump. Together, the two moments reveal a city trapped between criminal chaos, political distraction, and citizen denial.
Bergquam’s footage, filmed on the streets of Chicago, captures what he calls the “Midway Blitz”—ICE teams executing arrests of illegal aliens with serious criminal convictions. In one case, the target was convicted of armed robbery and DUI. For most Americans, the logic is simple: someone here illegally, convicted of violent crimes, should be removed.
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But on cue, resistance showed up. As Bergquam tried to engage two individuals shouting from their car, their only rebuttal was rage, profanity, and middle fingers. “You like criminals? That’s not a criminal,” the passenger shouted, blind to the facts. Bergquam’s response was blunt: “If they’re criminals, they gotta go. They’re criminals.”
The exchange was telling—not just for what was said, but for what it revealed. Many Chicago residents are so conditioned by activist narratives that they see ICE as villains and lawbreakers as victims. Bergquam noted that most people “only get part of the story” and fail to understand how ICE actually protects neighborhoods by removing predators who prey on both legal and illegal residents alike.
This isn’t just a Chicago issue—it’s a national narrative clash. But Chicago, plagued by crime and political dysfunction, has become ground zero for it.
Terrence Williams, a comedian turned cultural critic, adds another layer. His viral video blasted Chicago’s mayor for claiming the city was “built by slaves” and urging residents to resist Trump and federal law enforcement. Williams called him “the dumbest mayor in American history”. He highlighted what the political class won’t: every weekend, young Black men and women are gunned down in Chicago’s neighborhoods, yet leadership deflects instead of confronting the crisis.
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Williams’ point mirrors the frustration of America First conservatives, including President Trump, who have long called out the disconnect: politicians posture about history and ideology, but ignore the very real body count stacking up in America’s cities.
What Bergquam and Williams both capture is the cost of willful ignorance. ICE operations like the one Bergquam covered are not abstract. They remove armed robbers, drunk drivers, and predators. Yet too many citizens—cheered on by ideological leaders—would rather flip off the messengers than face hard truths about crime in their own backyards.
Chicago doesn’t need more slogans about slavery or lectures about “standing up to Trump.” It needs honesty. It needs leaders willing to acknowledge that crime is destroying communities, and that enforcing the law—against all criminals, whether citizen or not—is the first step toward protecting innocent lives.
Until then, the middle fingers will keep flying, while the funerals keep piling up.
For more of Bergquam’s reporting from Chicago: