Chicago to Relaunch ‘Know Your Rights’ Ad Campaign After Trump Vows to Expand Immigration Raids

(WTTW News) (WTTW News)

City officials will relaunch a campaign to educate Chicagoans about their rights after President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to expand efforts to deport immigrants in Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday.

Chicago officials have no information about when or where federal officials plan to launch those raids, Johnson said.

“Even if the federal government doesn’t know or care about the Constitution, Chicagoans deserve to know their constitutional rights,” Johnson said at a City Hall news conference.

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It is unclear whether Trump plans to use Illinois National Guard troops or members of the U.S. military in Chicago to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, as he has in Los Angeles over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

Both Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker have vehemently objected to Trump’s actions.

The campaign aims to educate residents about their rights in the event of being stopped or detained by federal agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Ads will be displayed on more than 400 screens across the CTA system, officials said.

The ads direct riders to the city’s “Know Your Rights” campaign website, which includes a resource guide, FAQ and a flyer with information on how to prepare for a potential ICE raid and what to do if ICE comes to your home or workplace.

The campaign was created by the Resurrection Project, National Immigrant Justice Center and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights along with city officials.

Beatriz Ponce de León, Chicago’s deputy mayor of immigrant, migrant and refugee rights, acknowledged that many Chicagoans are deeply afraid of being detained and deported by federal agents.

“We can’t tell people not to be afraid,” Ponce de León said. “Folks are seeing what is happening here and in other cities. But what we can do is give people information. The best that people can do is be prepared.”

In January, Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, told CNN that efforts led by Chicago officials and immigration advocates to educate undocumented immigrants had made deportation efforts in Chicago “very difficult.”

“For instance, Chicago (is) very well educated,” Homan said. “They call it ‘know your rights.’ I call it how to escape arrest ... how to hide from ICE.”

Homan said then he was willing to play a “cat and mouse game” until “every one of them gone.”

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]


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