U.S. Customs and Border Protection boats head east along the Chicago River towards Lake Michigan on Sept. 25, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune) (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
CHICAGO – According to the Chicago Tribune, U.S. Customs and Border Protection boats were on the Chicago River on Thursday.
The boats were docked near the Chicago Harbor Lock to stage marine vessels at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers facility by Navy Pier.
What we know:
The Chicago Tribune states that four Customs and Border Protection boats were seen heading east on the Chicago River Thursday afternoon. The officials on the boats were reportedly armed.
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael W. Banks posted on X that he was in Chicago by saying, “Landed in Chicago! The mission here is as vital as anywhere else on the line. We will not allow criminal aliens to take root in our communities.”
Also on Thursday, a Chicago woman selling tamales was detained by ICE in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, her fiancé told Fox 32.
Immigration advocates say enforcement activity is now concentrated in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood.
Just down the street from where Murillo was detained, witnesses told FOX 32 that ICE agents were also making arrests in the parking lot of a nearby Home Depot.
RELATED: Chicago woman selling tamales detained by ICE in Back of the Yards, fiancé says