Thousands of federal employees are now sidelined in Chicago and across the U.S. after government leaders failed to reach financial consensus and stopped paychecks to more than two million federal workers.

But one function continues unabated in Chicago: Immigration and Customs Enforcement making arrests of undocumented immigrants, along with the Trump administration plan to deploy National Guard units, in all likelihood. (snip)

An NBC5 Investigates review of federal closure plans shows ICE employees are largely exempt from the shutdown, meaning those operations will continue.

ICE agents are among almost 90% of all Homeland Security employees to remain working, although without pay until after the shutdown ends.

Dan Jones was jolted awake around 1 a.m. Tuesday to the sound of federal agents trying to break through his apartment door. They couldn’t get past his double lock, so he went back to bed.

But when he woke up hours later for work, he walked out and found broken doors littering the hallway — and his neighbors missing. (snip)

Armed federal agents in military fatigues busted down their doors overnight, pulling men, women and children from their apartments, some of them naked, residents and witnesses said. Agents approached or entered nearly every apartment in the five-story building, and U.S. citizens were among those detained for hours.

When he got home from work, Jones said he entered his unit to find all of his electronics and furniture missing, and all of his clothes and shoes thrown on the floor. Jones said he had no idea who took his belongings and hadn’t received answers from Chicago police.

“I’m pissed off,” Jones said. “I feel defeated because the authorities aren’t doing anything.” (snip)

Rodrick Johnson, 67, is one of many residents who were detained by federal agents during the South Shore raid. A U.S. citizen, he said agents broke through his door and dragged him out in zip ties.

Johnson said he was left tied up outside the building for nearly three hours before agents finally let him go.

“I asked [agents] why they were holding me if I was an American citizen, and they said I had to wait until they looked me up,” Jones said. “I asked if they had a warrant, and I asked for a lawyer. They never brought one.”