# Chicago cops spied on Minnesota activists for ICE

> Local police joined federal agents in surveilling an anti-immigration protest, raising questions about the limits of law enforcement cooperation.
- Title: Chicago cops spied on Minnesota activists for ICE · WIRED
- Summary: Local police joined federal agents in surveilling an anti-immigration protest, raising questions about the limits of law enforcement cooperation…
- Keywords: chicago police, homeland security investigations, minnesota 15, operation metro surge, ice surveillance, anti-ice activism, crimethinc, bridgeport illinois, joint task force, political repression, Chicago, cops
- Source: WIRED — https://wired.com/story/chicago-area-cops-helped-hsi-spy-on-minnesota-anti-ice-activists
- Author: Ali Winston
- Published: 2026-10-16T18:21:54.222+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: chicago police, homeland security investigations, minnesota 15, operation metro surge, ice surveillance, anti-ice activism, crimethinc, bridgeport illinois, joint task force, political repression
## Chicago cops joined ICE surveillance
Chicago-area police officers participated in an undercover Homeland Security Investigations probe of Minneapolis mutual aid networks last spring as part of a federal conspiracy investigation into 15 Twin Cities activists.
## The April 2 event in Bridgeport
An HSI report titled Antifa Roadshow details surveillance of an April 2 talk at Co-Prosperity, a Leftist gallery in Bridgeport. The task force included six local cops and eight HSI Chicago agents.
## Who was on the task force
The Chicago HSI task force included officers from Chicago, Aurora, Downer's Grove, Cook County, and Kane County. Local cops join the unit on full- or part-time basis for two years with their superiors' sign-off.
## Surveillance methods deployed
The task force used two undercover agents, electronic surveillance, audio recordings, license-plate-reader data, and surveillance cameras from Chicago's CCTV network to identify attendees and build connections to other anti-ICE protests.
## Why the speakers were there
Several speakers from the Twin Cities attended to share information about resisting federal immigration surges.
## How the undercover operation unfolded
A plainclothes cop from Aurora was dropped off by Officer Mike Xu from Downers Grove.
## What the undercover agent recorded
The undercover HSI agent transmitted a live recording of the event to the surveillance team for an hour, until transmission was lost.
## Surveillance details and vehicle tracking
The HSI Chicago surveillance team logged two hundred nineteen vehicles parked near Co-Prosperity. Ryan Wasson, a Kane County Sheriff's deputy, spotted a hooded, masked man removing an object from his trunk and identified him via…
## Remarks used in federal indictment
Remarks by defendant Callum Robinet from the April 2 talk about building rapid-response networks are included in the federal conspiracy indictment against the Minnesota 15, implicating the Chicagoland law enforcement that participated in surveillance.
## ACLU calls surveillance troubling
Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, says the surveillance is very troubling and calls for local law enforcement to make a full accounting of their role and participation in joint…

> No one should be subjected to surveillance and infiltration by law enforcement simply for engaging in constitutionally protected activity.
## Broader surveillance of the tour
The April 2 meeting in Bridgeport was not the only out-of-state gathering spied upon by HSI during the Minnesota 15 investigation.
## Key takeaway

Chicago-area police helped ICE's investigations wing conduct undercover surveillance of an April 2 anti-ICE gathering in Bridgeport, Illinois, as part of a federal conspiracy case against 15 Minnesota activists.