Federal agents now patrol America’s most mundane spaces, turning grocery runs into potential deportation checkpoints where citizenship becomes a question triggered by appearance alone.
The New Geography of Immigration Enforcement
Photographer Michael Kelly has documented a disturbing shift in federal immigration enforcement across Chicago’s suburbs. Border Patrol convoys of six to seven vehicles now regularly patrol retail parking lots, transforming everyday shopping trips into potential encounters with federal agents. These operations target high-traffic commercial areas in Melrose Park and Cicero, where agents approach shoppers based solely on physical appearance.
Kelly describes witnessing agents question a U.S. citizen woman outside a laundromat near a Walmart in Cicero. The woman was detained and questioned before being released. This represents what Kelly calls the “new norm” in immigration enforcement—a system where anyone can become a target simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Legal Authority Behind Parking Lot Patrols
Border Czar Tom Homan provided the legal justification for these tactics in July 2025, stating that agents don’t need probable cause to approach individuals. According to Homan, agents can initiate brief detentions “based on physical appearance” to identify potential immigration violations. This policy shift represents a dramatic expansion of federal authority in everyday public spaces.
The Supreme Court validated this approach on September 8, 2025, when it lifted lower court restrictions on race-based stops. Justice Sotomayor issued a sharp dissent, warning that the ruling made “all Latinos fair game” for enforcement actions. The decision came despite constitutional concerns raised by federal judges who argued that race and general intelligence reports provide insufficient grounds for arrests.
Scale and Impact of Street-Level Operations
The numbers reveal the scope of this enforcement strategy. Between January 20 and July 28, 2025, federal agents conducted over 16,000 street arrests nationwide. Ninety percent of those detained were Latino, and over half had no criminal record. The operations peaked during June and July, with 52% of all arrests occurring in those two months alone.
These arrests extend beyond parking lots to farms, construction sites, and neighborhoods. A June 2025 raid at a Ventura County farm resulted in hundreds of detentions and the death of farmworker Jaime Alanis from injuries sustained during the operation. U.S. citizens have also been caught in these sweeps, including Andrea Velez in Los Angeles, who was held for two days without water before her citizenship was verified.
Constitutional Crisis in Commercial Spaces
Representative Salud Carbajal and other lawmakers have demanded accountability for what they characterize as systematic racial profiling. Their congressional inquiry cites Fourth Amendment protections requiring “specific articulable facts” before detention, standards that current enforcement practices appear to ignore. The transformation of retail spaces into enforcement zones creates a chilling effect on immigrant communities.
The choice of locations like Walmart and Sam’s Club is strategic. These stores serve diverse, working-class communities where immigrant families shop for necessities. By positioning enforcement in these everyday spaces, federal agents maximize their reach while creating fear that extends far beyond those actually detained. Kelly’s documentation shows this isn’t random—it’s a calculated pattern targeting predictable gathering places.
Sources:
Chicago ICE Agents Walmart Sam’s Club – The Express
Congressional Inquiry on Immigration Enforcement – Rep. Carbajal