CHICAGO — President Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly sending hundreds of immigration agents to Chicago in the coming weeks as part of an immigration “blitz,” with operations expected to begin as soon as this weekend.
Federal agents — who are staying at the Great Lakes naval base — are expected to focus on making immigration arrests and conducting raids in and around Chicago for more than a month. Trump has also said he is considering sending the National Guard to the city, though it is unclear when that might happen.
Local authorities have criticized Trump’s plans and said the federal government has provided little information on what to expect. Gov JB Pritzker said agents could target Mexican Independence Day celebrations, and Grant Park’s El Grito Chicago festival was postponed by organizers for that reason.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has yet to release arrest totals or records from operations in Chicago after Trump took office in January, but White House border czar Tom Homan said immigration advocates made “it very difficult” to arrest people at that time.
And Chicago is again expected to meet federal agents with resistance aimed at protecting undocumented neighbors.
“The thing I feel good about is there’s a lot of people and organizations getting the word out,” said Patricia Nix-Hodges, a director at the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness. “It’s ongoing. It’s a scary situation. It may take time for people to fully grasp it.”
Here are ways Chicagoans can be prepared.
Know Your Rights As An Immigrant
Immigration justice organizations, along with city and local partners, have increased efforts to educate immigrant communities on their rights when interacting with immigration authorities.
“The most important things is to remain calm and to be aware of what your rights are,” said Marcela Rodriguez, co-executive director of nonprofit Enlace Chicago, which has distributed Know Your Rights information in Little Village schools.
Key rights:
- All immigrants have the right to remain silent and can walk away from ICE agents if they are not being arrested or detained.
- Immigrants also have the right to refuse to hand over documents, open their home or allow agents to search their belongings without a signed warrant. The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights has examples of what proper and improper warrants may look like.
Chicagoans can attend a Know Your Rights workshop and pass on the information to family, friends or neighbors. You can sign up here for a virtual Know Your Rights training from the Resurrection Project.
The city’s Office of Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights will host a series of virtual Family Preparedness workshops 6 p.m. Sept. 11, 18 and 25. Register here.
What To Do If A Loved One Is Detained
The National Immigrant Justice Center has a list of “immediate steps” to take after someone is detained by ICE. The guides are offered in five languages here.
If someone is detained, their friends or family should collect any completed immigration applications, police reports, probable cause affidavits, charging documents and sentencing documents they may have.
Finding The Detained Person
- Friends or family should first ask ICE agents for the detained person’s A-Number, or A#, which usually has nine digits. If the detained person has filed an immigration application, it is likely they already have an A-Number in those documents. People who have been arrested previously or allowed to enter at the border likely have an A-Number in their immigration documents, as well.
- Friends or family can then locate someone in ICE detention by searching their A-Number or identifying information here. Information about ICE detention centers is here.
- Once the center is identified, contact it to schedule calls or visits. Friends and family can also ask to send money and set up phone accounts so the detained person can call them.
Tracking Court Hearings
You can search by A-Number for a person’s next immigrant court hearing here or call 800-898-7180.
People with outstanding removal orders, prior deportations, aggravated felony offenses or expedited removal orders may not have a right to a court hearing. More information is here.
Getting A Lawyer
The immigration court system does not guarantee a lawyer for those who can’t afford one. People should ask an immigration judge for time to find a representative if they do not have one.
The National Immigrant Justice Center has a list of organizations that may represent people who are detained — and additional resources about understanding court cases — here.
Other Help
The Resurrection Project also has a Detained Loved One form for those in need of more assistance.
Know Your Rights As A Protestor
Protesters’ First Amendment rights are fully protected when they’re in public places and not blocking access to streets, stopping traffic or trying to enter federal buildings, said Ed Yohnka, an ACLU of Illinois spokesman.
The possible presence of the National Guard or federal agents “does not change your rights in any way,” Yohnka said.
The National Guard can set up perimeters around federal buildings and block people from entering them, Yohnka said. Those troops cannot do law enforcement activities like make arrests.
But their presence in Los Angeles led other federal agents to be “a lot more aggressive,” Yohnka said.
“I urge people to prioritize safety,” Yohnka said. “If they’re given an order to leave some place, that may be an unlawful order. They want to go ahead and abide and challenge it later instead of putting themselves at risk of being arrested or a victim of excessive force.”
RELATED: ‘Come With Me To Get Arrested’: This Chicago Lawyer Wants To Help You Fight Back Against ICE
If You’re Arrested As A Protester
People who get arrested should ask for a lawyer and exercise their right to remain silent, Yohnka said. Witnesses can record and “be cognizant” of where they were when the arrest was made and what they were doing “if you need to challenge the action later,” Yohnka said.
Hotlines have been set up for people to report police or National Guard misconduct (800-529-7374) or if they need legal assistance after being arrested at a protest (872-465-4244).
Know Your Rights trainings for protesters are 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Saturday at St. Michael Missionary Baptist Church, 4106 W. Monroe St., and 4-7 p.m. Sept. 14 at Go Green Griot Plaza, 1201 W. 63rd St.
Unverified rumors about immigration arrests have circulated on social media, spreading fear and panic among neighbors. Those posts can make it difficult for advocates to respond to legitimate tips because their resources get stretched thin.
“The worst thing we could do is to repeat information that hasn’t been vetted and theories that haven’t been confirmed,” Rodriguez said, saying it creates a climate of “anxiety and chaos.”
Follow organizations like The Resurrection Project and the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights on social media for verified updates. Resurrection Project streams immigration briefings on Facebook.
Recording, Reporting Immigration Agents
Local nonprofits The Resurrection Project and the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights have a dedicated hotline to report suspected immigration activity and a helpline for detained immigrants.
Neighbors can report an ICE raid or arrest by calling ICIRR’s family support hotline at 855-435-7693.
Pritzker has encouraged Chicagoans to record ICE activity in their neighborhoods “to keep them honest … they know they’re being watched.”
People should film from an arm’s-length plus a step away, ideally be around others documenting and continuously asses their personal safety risk, according to advocacy group Palenque LSNA. The videos should focus on agents or police and include their faces, badge numbers, car numbers and license plates.
What To Do If You’re Unhoused
Outreach workers with the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness are passing out their own Know Your Rights flyers to caution troops might clear encampments like the National Guard has done in Washington, D.C.
The flyers advise that people don’t sleep, smoke marijuana or drink alcohol in public places.
Unhoused people should keep a photo ID on them at all times and carry an emergency contact, a list of their medications and a charged phone.
Nix-Hodes said they are lobbying city and state officials to open more shelters while the federal operation is ongoing.
Nonprofits That Serve Immigrants
Immigrant-serving organizations like The Resurrection Project are working around the clock to support and inform immigrant communities, said Mary Johnson, chief development officer for the nonprofit. Others, like New Life Center and Onward Neighborhood House, continue to provide essential services and programs for longstanding and newly arrived immigrants, said Emilio Araudo, director of development and communications at Onward Neighborhood House.
Here are six organizations you can support:
For more information, visit each organization’s website. The Resurrection Project’s website also has an extensive list of Chicago organizations providing immigration legal services.
Julie Contreras said her community nonprofit, United Giving Hope, will deliver meals to people who feel safer staying home next week.
Luz Maria Cortez, a program manager at social service and housing provider La Casa Norte in Humboldt Park, said staffers there plan to accompany people to doctor and legal appointments.
“It’s more for a peace of mind, so there can always be someone with legal status and more knowledge of how to interact with officers,” Cortez said. “We have people who are desperate to get past this time.”
Immigrant Bond Fund
The Midwest Immigration Bond Fund was formed by a coalition of attorneys to provide immigration bond-payment assistance to people detained by ICE in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Kentucky.
In some cases of immigration detentions, a judge can release an immigrant if a bond is paid. Unlike other bonds, immigrants must pay 100 percent of the bond to be released, said Alejandra Oliva, board secretary of the Midwest Immigration Bond Fund.
“An individual bond payment can be extremely high for an individual or for a family and that’s where we come in,” Oliva said.
The nonprofit uses a revolving fund to help families or individuals detained by ICE as long as funds are available. Visit the Midwest Immigration Bond Fund website to donate or obtain immigration bond assistance.
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