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Immigration Policy

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 PolicyTop Stories

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
Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
As Lightfoot Departs, A ‘Woefully Unprepared’ Chicago Leaves Migrants In ‘Inhumane’ Conditions For Weeks — With No Plan In Sight Immigration Policy

As Lightfoot Departs, A ‘Woefully Unprepared’ Chicago Leaves Migrants In ‘Inhumane’ Conditions For Weeks — With No Plan In Sight

Around 3,100 migrants are in temporary shelters, relying on donated clothes and food as Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson inherits the crisis. “We don’t have beds. Children are sleeping on the floor," one man said.
, , , and May 9, 2023