Colin Boyle/Block Club ChicagoAs many as 200 ICE officers will be sent to Chicago next week, according to national reports. Chicago leaders are doubling down on efforts to support immigrants amid fears.
This story was originally published in Block Club Chicago, a nonprofit newsroom focused on Chicago’s neighborhoods. Sign up for its free daily newsletter.
LITTLE VILLAGE – The incoming Trump administration is planning large-scale deportations in Chicago starting next week, according to the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times — and the city’s immigrants are preparing.
The “Operation Safeguard” plan is slated to start Tuesday, the day after President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, and is expected to last through the following Monday, according to the unnamed sources cited by the New York Times. The dates could change, as plans are still being finalized, the Times reports.
Between 150 and 200 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are expected to be sent to Chicago, according to the reports.
Want to receive stories like this in your inbox every week?
Sign up for our free newsletter.
Last month, President-elect Donald Trump’s hand-picked “border czar” Tom Homan said his mass deportation efforts will “start right here in Chicago” as he threatened local officials to open the city and its county jail to the will of federal immigration agents.
But Homan sidestepped questions about how he would coordinate with Chicago law enforcement or dismantle local legal barriers to mass deportations.
As a sanctuary city, Chicago police will not share information with federal authorities, but they will not intervene “with other government agencies performing their duties,” police spokesperson Don Terry told the New York Times.
On Saturday, immigration advocates and politicians gathered at a press conference to inform immigrants of their rights in Pilsen hosted by the Resurrection Project, an advocacy group that assists undocumented immigrants with naturalization.
“We were expecting this,” said Eréndira Rendón, the Resurrection Project’s vice president of immigrant justice. “This is a moment to make sure that our communities know what their rights are. I myself, am undocumented. I came to the US when I was four years old to be reunited with my dad, who came when I was a baby.”
Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, who was born in Mexico and grew up in Little Village, said Chicago’s immigrant community has been the subject of attacks and immigration raids since the ’60s.
“These current threats are nothing new. … We renew our effort to say we are citizens like anyone else in this country,” García said. “… We will remain calm and exercise our rights, because those are the guarantees that the Constitution continues to have for each and every one of us.”
Speakers urged community members to refuse entry to ICE agents and call 855-435-7693, the Resurrection Project’s family support hotline if an arrest is made.
“It’s not a surprise [that Chicago is the first city the Trump administration targeted],” Garcia said. “Because Chicago stands for justice.”
He added that congresspeople had not been briefed on any specific plans from the Department of Homeland Security.
Read More of Our Coverage
Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th) emphasized that Chicago Public Schools will not cooperate with ICE officers.
“We want families to understand that young people can still go to school right, that the classrooms are going to be safe,” she said.
Garcia said any messaging from the Trump administration that paints immigrants as criminals is false — and just an effort to divide people.
“Let’s stop with the B-S,” Garcia said.
As rumors flew and immigrant communities panicked, the Mayor’s Office did not answer questions or issue a statement about these concerns Friday, and no one from the mayor’s office attended Saturday’s news conference.
Last week, Mayor Brandon Johnson reiterated his support of Chicago’s “welcoming city” status, and also urged Trump to pass an immigration reform bill.
“Our local law enforcement is not going to participate in any way with federal agents. We’re going to adhere to the law here in Chicago,” he said. “You control the House and the Senate and the judicial branch as well as the executive branch. Pass a law, right? We haven’t had substantive immigration reform policy in over 30 years.”
On Thursday, more than two dozen Little Village and Southwest Side neighbors attended a Know Your Rights workshop organized by state and local elected officials in partnership with nonprofit The Resurrection Project. Neighbors and business owners learned how to respond to immigration authorities if they arrived at their homes or workplaces.
The workshop is one of several organized by local officials and immigration organizations citywide in the weeks before Trump takes office. Since presidential election results were announced last year, immigration support and advocacy organizations have been preparing for an administration that campaigned on the promise of mass deportations – though plans remain unknown.
“We all need to know our rights and stay ready,” Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd) told Block Club Friday.
Rodriguez’s ward office doubled down on efforts to distribute Know Your Rights information and immigration resources in his ward Friday, he said.
Immigrants can best prepare for deportation raids by having a plan and knowing their rights, said Tovia Siegel, director of organizing and leadership at the Resurrection Project.
Regardless of their status, all immigrants are entitled to certain rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution.
Immigration officers must have a valid signed warrant to enter a private home or space, Siegel said. Immigrants also have a right to remain silent and request a lawyer if detained by immigration officers.
Immigrant families are also encouraged to have an emergency family plan ready in case a family member is detained, have guardianship and legal documents ready and organized, and identify emergency contacts and lawyers, immigration advocates said.
Immigrants can visit the Resurrection Project website to get a comprehensive toolkit designed for immigrant families and immigration service providers, Siegel said.
Meanwhile, a coalition of faith leaders is coming together to stand behind Chicago’s immigrant community, said Andre Gordillo, senior director of nonprofit New Life Centers of Chicagoland. Faith leaders have seen an uptick in immigrants’ need for support, he said.
Last weekend, Gordillo hosted Know Your Rights workshops in English and Spanish at the New Life Community Church in Little Village Sunday services to distribute critical information among immigrant families who attend the church.
“Pastors and churches from the South and West Sides, not only Latino churches, are coming together in unity, asking and thinking how they can activate their churches,” he said.
On Saturday, New Life Community Church in Little Village and dozens of church networks across Chicagoland – including Holy Trinity, Park Community Church and World Relief – are coming together for a bilingual prayer gathering at 7 p.m. Saturday at New Life Community Church, 2657 S. Lawndale Ave.
Mack Liederman and Madison Savedra contributed to this report.
Bring power to immigrant voices!
Our work is made possible thanks to donations from people like you. Support high-quality reporting by making a tax-deductible donation today.
