CHICAGO (WLS) — Immigrant advocates say they have already received a large volume of calls to their hotline about Immigration and Customs Enforcement encounters in the Chicago area in recent days.
Some elected leaders worry that this just the start of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the area.
“It’s obvious that operations have begun in Chicago, and it’s even more obvious they’re going to be targeting our communities here in the Southwest Side again. We’re afraid. Our neighbors are afraid,” said Any Huamani, who is on the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council and is a Southwest Side Rapid Response team member.
The Department of Homeland Security says their operation “Midway Blitz” in the Chicago area is underway. They say they are targeting violent offenders who are here illegally.
On social media, ICE posted a picture of one of their SUVs with the Chicago skyline behind it, saying they are here to remove the dangerous public safety threats.
Late Monday, ICE said agents arrested at least four men from Mexico in the Chicago area on Sunday. They are accused of crimes like DUI, vehicular burglary, armed robbery, domestic battery, assault and sexual assault of a child, ICE said.
“So far, it’s been successful. We have successfully arrested some criminal aliens over the last few days. We just began our surge. We’re going to be bringing in our our partners, our other DHS partners, DOJ partners, CBP partners coming in. So, they’ll be coming in and participating in this ICE-led operation,” said ICE official Marcos Charles.
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ICE said one arrest was made at 47th and Archer and another was made at 49th and Archer. ICE did not provide locations for the other two arrests.
Video provided to ABC7 shows federal agents wearing badges that say “ICE” handcuffing a man near Archer and Pulaski. Neighbors say that man is a flower vendor.
“We have confirmed in my ward… detained in my ward… there have been three people. One in 50th and Pulaski; he a was a street vendor selling flowers. The other, a couple of blocks down in Archer, was just standing on the sidewalk. The third one was waiting on the bus on 47th and Archer,” said Ald. Jeylu Gutierrez, who represents the 14th Ward. “This was never about arresting the worst of the worst. It’s been about terrorizing our community.”
Gutierrez says the wife of the flower vendor has been notified, and the family is figuring out their next steps.
On Monday morning, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights says their teams were deployed to 61st and Kildare on Chicago’s Southwest Side after reports of immigration agents in the area.
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“What we do know is they attempted arrests, and there has been at least one arrest for today,” said ICIRR Senior Director of Deportation Defense Rey Wences.
While announcing the immigration blitz on Monday, DHS also listed 11 specific people agents are looking for in Chicago.
Many of those people were detained in the Cook County Jail for criminal cases, but later released.
DHS accuses the jail of not cooperating. But in a statement on Monday night, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office says state law prohibits them from releasing any detainees into the custody of federal immigration authorities without a signed arrest warrant from a judge.
Meanwhile, Evanston is also preparing for possible ICE raids in the coming days. The mayor there was tipped off by the governor’s office and sent out an email blast, letting residents know.
“We’re also working with community partners. So for example, this morning, the high school sent an email blast as well to all of their families, knowing that some people might get ours and not theirs, some people might get theirs and not ours,” said Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss.
The Evanston City Council will vote on a resolution calling for the state to address ICE agents wearing masks on Monday night.
“We believe that it is just fundamentally wrong in a democracy for an agent of the state to use the power of the state without identifying themselves clearly with transparency and accountability,” Biss said.
Many people in the Chicago area are wondering if this past weekend was the calm before the ICE storm.
“Operation ‘Midway Blitz’ is not public safety. It’s a declaration of war on Mexicans and Latinos in Chicago,” said state Rep. Aaron Ortiz, who represents the 1st District.
Immigrant advocates reminded the public to not provoke federal agents and to take video of any encounters from a safe distance.
Religious leaders rally against immigration crackdown in Chicago: ‘Faith over fear’
Religious leaders from a diverse group of faith backgrounds stood with one voice on Daley Plaza to decry the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Meanwhile, more than one dozen faith leaders came together on Monday, taking a stand against ICE raids and rallying in support of immigrants in a campaign they are calling Faith Over Fear.
“ICE cannot survive the fire of a forge,” said Reverend David Black with the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago.
“But what he’s done is rallying us together. I’ve not seen this in a long time. He’s fighting with all his weapons of his mouth and weapons of the army. We’re fighting for something. It’s our DNA, our faith, our faith is essential of who we are. He’s not ready for this and he’s not more powerful,” said Fr. Michael Pfleger with St. Sabina Church.
Religious leaders from a diverse group of faith backgrounds stood with one voice on Daley Plaza to decry the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and the possibility of a National Guard deployment in Chicago, as the White House border czar says the use of National Guard troops to protect and support immigration enforcement operations is “on the table.”
“This morning, as I dropped my kids off at school. Like so many of us in Chicago did this morning, we took our kids to school, but today felt different,” said Rev Sandra Van-Opstal with Lawndale Christian Community Church.
“I’ve got to tell you, there’s a lot of fear. I live in the Pilsen/Little Village area, and it’s been quieter these past few days, and so, we suspect that people will be navigating the conditions in our city cautiously,” said Ray Wences with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
Little Village is all decked out in Mexican colors in advance of this weekend’s Independence Day celebration. Many street vendors are selling flags and other items for those gearing up for the festivities.
“God stood on the side of the vulnerable and the oppressed,” said Mishkan Chicago founder Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann. “God split the sea for them and said to the world, the way that you treat the least among you, the strangers, the slaves, the servants, the way that you treat them is a test of your society.”
The faith leaders are preparing to support those families who may be impacted by ICE detentions.
“As a way to be able to walk with the families after something has happened, we’re going to reactivate a lot of the resource network that we had during the new arrivals mission and be able to partner with churches and other groups to be able to get emergency items out to all of them,” said New Life Centers CEO Matt DeMateo.
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A protest and a march against the operation are set to get underway in the Loop late Tuesday afternoon.
Trump, meanwhile, continues to focus on Chicago crime as operation “Midway Blitz” ramps up.
“And I don’t know why Chicago isn’t calling us saying, ‘Please give us help,’ when you have, over just a short period of time, 50 murders and hundreds of people shot, and then, you have a governor that stands up and says how crime is just fine. It’s really crazy,” Trump said.
In an op-ed piece in the New York Times, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson addressed a possible National Guard deployment to address crime, saying in part, “lowering crime rates here does not require an occupation of our city by armed members of the National Guard, as the White House continues to threaten us with…. Sending in the National Guard is the wrong solution to a real problem.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker responded to the ICE post about coming after dangerous criminals, saying it is not about fighting crime, and that if it were, his administration would have heard from the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate efforts. The governor says this is about scaring Illinoisans.
The ICIRR Family Support Network was founded to connect immigrant communities with support. They can be reached at 855-435-7693.
A spokesperson for Pritzker, issued a statement, saying, “The Governor’s Office has received no formal communication or information from the Trump Administration. Like the public and press, we are learning of their operations through their social media as they attempt to produce a reality television show. As Trump has said himself, this is not about seriously fighting crime or reforming immigration – it’s about Trump’s plan to go to war with America’s third-largest city. If he cared about delivering real solutions for Illinois, then we would have heard from him. Unlike Trump’s reality show, we don’t like keeping people in the dark. Since we have learned of the Trump Administration’s plans to deploy federal agents and active-duty military to Illinois, Gov. Pritzker has shared information with the public and the Governor’s Office has remained in regular contact with leaders and partners at the City of Chicago, Cook County, the Illinois congressional delegation, state legislature, and mayors and representatives from the collar counties.”
Johnson also issued a statement, saying, “We have received no notice of any enhanced immigration action by the Trump administration. We are concerned about potential militarized immigration enforcement without due process because of ICE’s track record of detaining and deporting American citizens and violating the human rights of hundreds of detainees. ICE sent a 4-year-old boy with stage 4 kidney cancer to Honduras, even though the child was an American citizen. There are more than 500 documented incidents of human rights abuses at detention facilities since Trump took office, including deaths of detainees and alleged cases of sexual abuse of minors by federal immigration agents. Because of these incidents and more, we remain opposed to militarized immigration enforcement that runs afoul of the Constitution in our city. We encourage residents to visit www.Chicago.gov/KYR to stay informed on their rights.”
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