CHICAGO –Media reports – led by reporting at Crains Chicago Business – indicate that at the request of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Aviation Administration late yesterday issued a wide prohibition against non-commercial drone flights over a wide swath of the Chicago area for the next 10 days. The prohibition extends as far north as Evanston and extends west into the suburbs.
According to Crains’ reporting the order is unusual in both its breadth and nature. Temporary Flight Restrictions for drones and other aircraft from the FAA are issued periodically for major sporting events, such as a Super Bowl, or national security events, such as national political conventions, but they do not typically last for more than a week and cover such a wide area. The State of Illinois places limitations on the use of drone technology by police and government agencies, and some Illinois communities limit where private drones can operate in their jurisdictions. But given the stepped up federal enforcement – and threats to deploy military forces or the National Guard to Chicagoland – the new order could effectively block private citizens and the media from using drones to observe and track ICE raids and arrests.
The following can be attributed to Ed Yohnka, Director of Communications and Public Policy at the ACLU of Illinois:
“These restrictions appear to follow a disturbing pattern with the Trump Administration — attempting to limit the ability of the public and the media to monitor and demand accountability for their actions. When redressing claims of the use of excessive force and other abuses by ICE and other Administration agents, video footage gathered by individuals and the media has been crucial. This broad limitation over such a giant swath of the Chicagoland area suggests that ICE intends (as we recently saw) to use their own drones and helicopters for immigration enforcement action. Using these military tactics on civilians is inappropriate, given the attempt to eliminate oversight and accountability, is dangerous to the people targeted in these actions and the entire community.