Crowds of bystanders heckled and pointed cellphone cameras at federal agents during arrests. Immigration officers deployed tear gas and fired pepper balls to disperse protesters. Schools emailed parents in the middle of the day with warnings: Immigration agents might be nearby.

These scenes from the Chicago area in recent days looked far different from what residents were seeing along city streets about a month ago, when the Trump administration announced the start of a crackdown on illegal immigration in Chicago and its suburbs.

What began with a slow uptick in arrests has escalated rapidly. One unauthorized immigrant was fatally shot. American citizens have been detained along with undocumented immigrants. Border Patrol agents have walked in groups through downtown Chicago. Residents have given chase to federal agents’ vehicles. And chemical agents have been used on protesters, journalists and clergy members.

By this week, tensions were high, and many Chicagoans said they sensed a city on edge.

The New York Times reviewed more than 100 videos taken in the Chicago area over the past month, chronicling the actions of federal agents and the response by the public. Videos captured protests, raids, arrests on city streets and residents’ confrontational responses. Together, the videos show how tensions have risen, unfolding in charged and adversarial scenes in locations scattered around the city.

Federal authorities originally told local officials that they expected the operation to last 45 days. There now appears to be no end in sight.

Sept. 5-11

A Slow Ramp Up

From the beginning, residents in heavily Latino neighborhoods in the city were wary of the promised escalation by immigration authorities. But in a city of 2.7 million spread out across more than 200 square miles, other residents seemed unconcerned or unaware, with few early signs of a crackdown visible along their streets.