by: Quinn Hathaway

Media Editor

The crackdown on illegal immigration is escalating daily in Chicago, Illinois. On Sept. 8, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officially started Operation Midway Blitz, a project that aims to decrease the number of unlawful migrants in Chicago and implement harsher policies. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the DHS, asserted that the Trump Administration has an explicit message: “No city is a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens. If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will hunt you down, arrest you, deport you, and you will never return.”

One of the Trump administration’s main goals throughout the president’’s second term is to increase immigration regulations, as seen in mass deportations and the increasing presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers across the country. The DHS claims it  apprehended over 1,000 illegal persons from the period of Sept. 8 to Oct. 3, prompting Chicagoans to fight back against government intervention in their city. A recent altercation occurred on Oct. 13, when a federal agent car chase drew many residents out of their houses to protest ICE raids. The city has seen similar events in various districts, including a mass arrest at a flea market on Oct. 17. 

District Judge Sara Ellis issued a court order requiring all immigration officers to wear body cameras as they deploy throughout Chicago, although she agreed to decrease the number of required officers with cameras when she encountered opposition from the Trump administration. The purpose of these body cameras is to ensure safe practices when apprehending any resident of Chicago, a goal especially prevalent due to the recent No Kings protest.

The recent raids have galvanized not only Illinois but states across the nation in the form of a second “No Kings” protest on Oct. 18, in response to the perception that President Trump’s actions are tyrannical. The Chicago chapter amassed around 250,000 people, stretched a total of two miles, and attracted speakers including Governor JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson. Both Pritzker and Johnson voiced their disagreements with the role of ICE officers. Pritzker declared, “Tyranny requires your fear…democracy requires your courage.” Johnson’s speech reiterated words of unification and resilience: “The attempt to divide and conquer this nation will not prevail, because when the people are united, justice always prevails.”

Explaining his participation in the No Kings rally, one Chicagoan said, “They’re kidnapping people off the streets — in my neighborhood — and it feels like a ghost town. People are scared, I’m scared too, but I’m mostly angry.” This sentiment appears to be echoed around the city, encompassed by City Council member Andre Vasquez: “[Chicago is] not going to tolerate unconstitutional authoritarianism.” The tension between governmental interference and local resistance continues to shape Chicago’s plight over ICE intervention.

(Sources: CNN, DHS, NY Times)