Little Village Woman Fights Felony Charges After ICE Clash

Sandra Infante, a 39-year-old mother of three from Little Village, is fighting two felony charges that grew out of last October’s confrontation between neighborhood residents, ICE agents, and Chicago police on 26th Street.

A police report states Infante attempted to strike a Chicago police officer with a chunk of concrete or large rock and swung her left arm at the officer’s face during the Oct. 23 clash. Officers arrested her that day during what federal authorities called Operation Midway Blitz, a large-scale immigration enforcement sweep that drew crowds of Little Village residents into the streets near the intersection of 26th Street and Sacramento Avenue.

The charges filed the following day, aggravated assault to a police officer and aggravated battery to a peace officer, are both felonies. Infante pleaded not guilty Dec. 15. Court records show she had no prior criminal history in Cook County before the arrest.

The 48 hours Infante spent in Cook County Jail after her arrest cost her more than her freedom. According to members of Dare to Struggle, a Chicago-based organization mobilizing support for Infante, she lost her job at a law firm. The group has been rallying community support around her case, framing her prosecution as part of a broader pattern of consequences falling on residents, not on federal agents, after a confrontation the community describes as an act of resistance.

That framing runs through the statements of her attorney, Sheryl Weikal, who told reporters after Wednesday’s hearing that she looks forward to establishing her client’s innocence. Weikal also pointed to a gap she finds telling: there are charges against Infante and no charges against anyone employed by ICE. Federal agents deployed tear gas and pepper spray against protesters during the standoff, according to neighbors who witnessed the confrontation.

Infante appeared Wednesday before Judge Jennifer Coleman at the George Leighton Criminal Court Building on South California Avenue. The case is now continued to May 7 after Weikal, who is newly on the case, requested additional time for discovery. The judge made her impatience clear from the bench.

“This case is getting a little old for the nature of the charges,” Coleman said.

Infante declined to comment after the hearing, referring questions to her attorney.

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, led by Eileen O’Neill Burke, declined to comment. The Chicago Police Department did not respond to questions about the arrest.

The context surrounding Infante’s case carries significant weight. Operation Midway Blitz, which unfolded in the fall of 2025, drew national attention as one of the more aggressive federal immigration enforcement actions in a major American city. Little Village, a predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood on Chicago’s Southwest Side, became a flashpoint. Neighbors poured into the streets as word spread of federal agents operating in the area. CPD responded to multiple 911 calls around 10:15 a.m., including a call from federal agents requesting assistance. Chicago police supervisors said they worked to de-escalate upon arrival.

What followed was a chaotic scene captured in photos and video. Federal agents used chemical irritants against the crowd. Infante was among those detained.

Her case sits at the intersection of several unresolved tensions: the city’s stated sanctuary policies versus the reality of CPD officers responding to assist federal immigration agents, the question of accountability for use of force by ICE during a domestic operation, and the familiar pattern of protest-related prosecutions where charges flow toward demonstrators rather than toward law enforcement.

The May hearing will determine how much longer this case lingers. For Infante, the personal stakes are already high. She has lost her job, spent time in jail, and now carries felony charges through a court system that Coleman herself has signaled is moving too slowly.

Federal immigration enforcement reaches into Chicago neighborhoods, and the legal aftermath lands on residents like Infante. That is the story Little Village has been living since last October, and it is still not resolved.