Operation Midway Blitz

• Prize
  Silver in Press/General News
• Photographer
  Nima Taradji, United States
• Date of Photograph
  2025-2026
• Studio
  Nima Taradji / Polaris Images
• Website
  https://nimataradji.com
• Instagram
  https://www.instagram.com/nima.taradji/

Operation Midway Blitz launched September 8, 2025, bringing a massive wave of ICE enforcement across Chicago. Employing aggressive tactics, the operation resulted in over 3,000 arrests, fracturing immigrant communities and spreading widespread fear. Protests erupted across the city, met with tear gas and force by federal agents. A state commission later concluded the White House had encouraged agents to act outside the law. Two civilians were caught in the violence — one killed, one shot five times and survived. Though less visible today, federal agents continue to operate throughout Chicago.

Nima Taradji is an Iranian-American documentary, editorial and news photographer based in Chicago. His long-term projects have documented an Alaska Native community confronting coastal erosion, the survival of traditional Maya beekeeping in Yucatán, a small Indiana neighborhood surrounded by heavy industry, and immigration enforcement in Chicago. He also covers breaking news, demonstrations, cultural and religious events, and editorial assignments in the United States and abroad.

Born in Iran, raised in France and the United States, Taradji practiced law before leaving the profession in 2018.