Here’s what federal agents can do in cities like Chicago

From the earliest days of the United States, there has been a debate about where the power should lie: with the states or with a central U.S. government?

Now that debate is playing out in Chicago and the suburbs. As the Trump administration gears up to send in federal troops to bolster "Operation Midway Blitz" and its mass deportation program, state and local officials are fighting back.

Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson on Tuesday accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of violating city ordinances, closing streets without permits and, in her words, “making war” on her city.

Legal experts, however, said federal agents enforcing federal laws have broad powers to do so.

“They can do almost whatever they want,” said Nadav Shoked, a professor of law at Northwestern University.