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Immigration Policy

Jorge Mújica Murias, an organizer with Arise Chicago, stands in the front of a small meeting room as he walks small business owners through role play-scenarios to prepare them in case they encounter ICE officers on Oct. 21, 2025.Camilla Forte/Borderless Magazine/Catchlight Local/Report for America
What Can Chicago’s Small Businesses Do if ICE Is at Their Door? Immigration PolicyLabor and EconomicsResources

What Can Chicago’s Small Businesses Do if ICE Is at Their Door?

The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has small business owners and their employees navigating uncertainty amid safety concerns and staffing shortages. Borderless Magazine compiled a guide on what to do if ICE appears at your workplace.
November 18, 2025
Camilla Forte/Borderless Magazine/Catchlight Local/Report for America and courtesy
‘It’s Shameful and Embarrassing’: Chicago Daycare Worker Arrest Leaves Families on Edge FeaturedImmigration Policy

‘It’s Shameful and Embarrassing’: Chicago Daycare Worker Arrest Leaves Families on Edge

After ICE agents followed and detained a daycare worker on Chicago’s North Side, parents are questioning whether schools and childcare centers are safe from immigration enforcement.
November 13, 2025
Arthur Maiorella for Block Club Chicago
Border Patrol Boss Greg Bovino Must Report To Court Daily About ICE Tactics, Federal Judge Says Immigration PolicyLatest

Border Patrol Boss Greg Bovino Must Report To Court Daily About ICE Tactics, Federal Judge Says

“Kids dressed in Halloween costumes walking to a parade do not pose an immediate threat to the safety of a law enforcement officer,” U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis told Bovino during a court hearing Tuesday morning. “They just don’t.”
October 29, 2025
A group of several people stand in a circle praying near the Broadview ICE facility.Camilla Forte/Borderless Magazine/Catchlight Local/Report for America
Religious Activists Protested Broadview for Years. Now, ICE’s Crackdown Is Drowning Out Their Prayers Immigration PolicyTop StoriesVisuals

Religious Activists Protested Broadview for Years. Now, ICE’s Crackdown Is Drowning Out Their Prayers

What began as quiet Friday morning prayers decades ago has evolved into a larger and louder movement as activists join a long-standing prayer group in demanding the release of detainees.
and October 28, 2025
Patrick Filbin/Block Club Chicago
ICE Arrest Of Teen Cancer Patient’s Dad ‘Unconscionable,’ Officials Say While Demanding His Release Immigration PolicyLatest

ICE Arrest Of Teen Cancer Patient’s Dad ‘Unconscionable,’ Officials Say While Demanding His Release

Rep. Delia Ramirez said she’s preparing legislation to “rein in ICE” as she and other officials push for an investigation into Ruben Torres Maldonado’s arrest by a “terror force” of federal agents.
October 23, 2025
Max Herman/Borderless Magazine. Screenshots from video courtesy of Illinois State Rep. Hoan
‘We Should Be Able To Live In Peace’: ICE Allegedly Pulls Gun On State Rep. Hoan Huynh Immigration PolicyLatest

‘We Should Be Able To Live In Peace’: ICE Allegedly Pulls Gun On State Rep. Hoan Huynh

In the latest incident in a string of aggressive immigration enforcement, Illinois State Rep. Hoan Huynh alleged that federal agents pointed a gun at him and a staffer in Chicago’s North Side while they were warning the community of ICE presence.
, and October 22, 2025
Daniel Powell/ZUMA Press Wire/Alamy and Camilla Forte/Borderless Magazine/Catchlight Local/Report for America
From Pepper Spray to Tear Gas: Here’s How to Spot the Difference When They’re Dispersed Immigration PolicyLatestResources

From Pepper Spray to Tear Gas: Here’s How to Spot the Difference When They’re Dispersed

Amid frequent escalating protests and aggressive tactics by federal agents, Borderless compiled a guide to understand what substances agents are using — and how to stay protected in case of potential exposure.
October 17, 2025
A masked federal agent points a weapon at residents on the East Side of Chicago. One elderly man is seeing filming with his phone.Matthew Kaplan/Block Club Chicago
Immigration Committee Chair Warns ‘Fascism Is Here,’ Sends Plan To Investigate Feds To Council Immigration PolicyLatest

Immigration Committee Chair Warns ‘Fascism Is Here,’ Sends Plan To Investigate Feds To Council

Among the measures expected to be considered by the City Council on Thursday is a resolution to investigate “every instance of potential misconduct” by federal agents in Chicago amid the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement blitz.
October 16, 2025
Federal agents wearing gas masks and fatigues walk through tear gas pointing the direction they are commanding protestors to go.Dave Decker/ZUMA Press Wire/Alamy
Chicago Officials, Community Leaders Push Back Against ICE’s Aggressive Tactics: ‘This Is About Control’ Enforcement and CourtsImmigration PolicyLatest

Chicago Officials, Community Leaders Push Back Against ICE’s Aggressive Tactics: ‘This Is About Control’

One month since the launch of “Operation Midway Blitz,” Illinois officials and activists are taking action against ICE enforcement tactics and the deployment of the National Guard.
October 7, 2025
Two federal agents wearing camouflage and standing on a rooftop aim less lethal weapons at protesters.Vincent D. Johnson/Block Club Chicago
ICE Fires Chemical Weapon At TV Reporter In Broadview; ‘Unprovoked’ Attack Under Investigation Enforcement and CourtsImmigration Policy

ICE Fires Chemical Weapon At TV Reporter In Broadview; ‘Unprovoked’ Attack Under Investigation

The attack came one day after ICE arrested another working journalist. “Absolutely unprovoked,” the TV news reporter said. “My window was open and chemicals went all over my face. Been puking for two hours.”
September 29, 2025
Wendy Wei for Borderless Magazine
More Than Three Years After Russia’s Full-scale Ukraine Invasion, Aid Workers Question: ‘Is Rebuilding Enough? Immigration PolicyInvestigationVisuals

More Than Three Years After Russia’s Full-scale Ukraine Invasion, Aid Workers Question: ‘Is Rebuilding Enough?

Chicago's Ukrainian diaspora has funded millions to reconstruct bombed communities. But as some humanitarian workers pivot from humanitarian work to military action, volunteers face hard questions about effective resistance.
August 12, 2025
Sebastián Hidalgo for Block Club Chicago
Can Local Officials Stop ICE Agents From Hiding Behind Masks? They’re Trying Enforcement and CourtsImmigration Policy

Can Local Officials Stop ICE Agents From Hiding Behind Masks? They’re Trying

Seven Illinois representatives co-sponsored a bill that would ban immigration agents from wearing masks. In Chicago, police district council members want the city to enforce “identification standards” for law enforcement.
July 7, 2025
Nathan Howard/Sipa USA/Alamy Live News
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker Defends Sanctuary Policies in Congressional Hearing, Claims ‘Abuse of Power’ Immigration Policy

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker Defends Sanctuary Policies in Congressional Hearing, Claims ‘Abuse of Power’

Pritzker defended the safety and security of sanctuary policies at the House Oversight Committee, while calling Trump’s use of the National Guard to quell Los Angeles protests an “abuse of power.”
June 12, 2025
Benjamin Rasmussen for ProPublica
Boxed Up: A Portrait of an Immigrant Community Living Under Threat of Deportation Enforcement and CourtsImmigration Policy

Boxed Up: A Portrait of an Immigrant Community Living Under Threat of Deportation

The Nicaraguans who keep Wisconsin’s dairy farms, restaurants and factories working are sending home their most prized possessions, bracing for potential mass deportations. “We don’t have much, but what we do have is important.”
February 20, 2025
Beatriz Ponce de Leon, Deputy Mayor for Immigration, Migrant and Refugee Rights, speaks as protesters and local officials filled the lobby at City Hall Jan. 13, 2025 to rally in support of the city's Welcoming City ordinance in the face of Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) and Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd)’s proposed changes to the ordinance.Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Trump Deportations Could Start In Chicago Tuesday, Reports Say. The City’s Immigrants Are Preparing Immigration Policy

Trump Deportations Could Start In Chicago Tuesday, Reports Say. The City’s Immigrants Are Preparing

As 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.
and January 18, 2025
Photo illustration by Max Herman/Borderless Magazine. Photo by Max Herman
Illinois Makes Housing Discrimination Based on Immigration Status a Civil Rights Violation Immigration Policy

Illinois Makes Housing Discrimination Based on Immigration Status a Civil Rights Violation

The state-expanded protections prohibit housing providers from discriminating against a person based on actual or perceived immigration status. A real estate attorney breaks down what this expanded law means.
July 15, 2024
Photo illustration by Max Herman/Borderless Magazine. Photo by Max Herman / additional photo from Canva
Buying a Home is Hard. It’s Even More Difficult When You’re Undocumented. Immigration PolicyLabor and Economics

Buying a Home is Hard. It’s Even More Difficult When You’re Undocumented.

Undocumented immigrants have long faced a narrow path to homeownership, but in recent years, some local community banks are slowly expanding lending options to help noncitizens realize their dream of owning a home.
July 2, 2024
Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Lost in translation: Migrant kids struggle in segregated Chicago schools EducationImmigration Policy

Lost in translation: Migrant kids struggle in segregated Chicago schools

Two years after busloads of migrant children began arriving in Chicago, many have landed in schools where most don’t speak Spanish. Custodians and kindergarten teachers are taking on the role of translator, but students are still falling behind.
and May 21, 2024