CHICAGO — On the early morning of September 30, federal agents from the Border Patrol Tactical Unit entered the South Shore Apartments on Chicago's South Side, rappelling from a Black Hawk helicopter in body armor while other agents crashed through the building's doors with battering rams and rounded up residents at gunpoint. The agents moved through hallways in organized formation, wearing helmets, bulletproof vests, and carrying suppressor-equipped M4 rifles.

Intelligence briefings had claimed the South Shore Apartments were controlled by Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan street gang. The briefing alleged gang members were occupying the building and storing grenades, handguns, and rifles on the second floor, where a suspect with an open warrant for firearms possession lived. The intelligence alleging gang activity at the apartments was never released or substantiated, and Illinois launched an investigation into whether the property owner sent baseless claims to federal authorities.

BORTAC agent Padraic Daniel Berlin held his Belgian Malinois dog named Yoda on a leash during the operation. Berlin yelled "Police! Speak to me now or I'll send the dog!" at every door approached by his team. Team leader Corey Myers checked apartment doors during the raid, with Paul Delgado Jr. serving as the final member of the entry team.

The team detained one man in a second-floor unit. Myers then noticed signs of forced entry in another apartment and smashed open the door. Inside, Tolulope Akinsulie, an undocumented immigrant from Nigeria, was hiding in the bedroom. Berlin released Yoda without issuing a warning or verbal command, and the dog pounced on Akinsulie, biting his leg. The dog bit Akinsulie repeatedly in the leg, hip, and hands before Berlin called it off. The team then placed Akinsulie in handcuffs.

Akinsulie was not a target of the raid and had no known history of violent crime or gang affiliation. He was treated for his injuries and taken to the Broadview Processing Center to face removal proceedings.

The raid took place during Operation Midway Blitz, the Trump administration's 2025 surge of hundreds of immigration agents into Chicago and surrounding communities. Berlin was involved in at least five uses of force during the operation.

A review of over 78 incident reports from Operation Midway Blitz found that BORTAC and BORSTAR agents recorded the highest number of uses of force among federal agents deployed to Chicago. Customs and Border Protection employees recorded over 144 discrete uses of force by CBP personnel from September through early November. Sixty-two BORTAC and BORSTAR personnel were involved in use-of-force incidents during the eight-week period.

BORTAC and BORSTAR agents typically operate masked in American cities and are identified only by call signs sometimes visible on their uniforms. Their names are typically excluded from official documents and shielded from public records requests. The Department of Homeland Security has disclosed records about federal immigration deployments only in response to litigation.