Politics

Chicago-Area Veterans Speak Out Against Trump, Immigration Raids During Veterans Day Events

As Chicago-area veterans gathered Tuesday to commemorate Veterans Day around the city, some used the opportunity to speak out about the government’s failure to care for veterans. Some sounded the alarm about what they described as attacks against democracy and other foundational American principles coming from the Trump administration.

“Across our nation, and in this city, families are being torn apart, not by enemies overseas, but by federal overreach here at home,” veteran Julio Cortes, co-founder of Green Card Veterans, said during a Veterans Day event in Little Village. 

Veterans Day commemoration events were held this year against a backdrop of a monthslong and aggressive federal immigration enforcement campaign in the Chicago area, known as “Operation Midway Blitz.”

Veterans and elected leaders gathered in Little Village to honor the life and legacy of Miguel Perez Jr., a U.S. Army veteran and green card holder who was deported to Mexico. Following advocacy by local groups, community members and elected leaders, he eventually received U.S. citizenship in 2019. Perez Jr. died last month.

Perez Jr., who was deployed twice to Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 attacks and suffered a traumatic brain injury, worked with Army National Guard veteran U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth to support other deported veterans. U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García also chose Perez Jr. to be his guest at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address in 2020.

“He wore the uniform proudly and fought the battles, but he came home with invisible wounds that went undiagnosed, but not unnoticed,” García said. “Miguel struggled. Like too many of our veterans, he wasn’t able to receive the help that he needed.”

Perez Jr. was able to return to the U.S. after receiving a pardon from Gov. JB Pritzker in 2019, erasing a previous drug conviction. In his remarks Tuesday in Little Village, Pritzker condemned federal agents for “harassing and detaining” veterans while carrying out recent immigration enforcement operations.

“Unfortunately, some elected officials in Washington are tearing apart the Constitution you fought to defend,” Pritzker said. He later added, “Let’s remind those federal agents to live up to the responsibility that they hold of preserving our democracy and building a nation worthy of our veterans’ sacrifices.”

Perez Jr.’s family was presented with a certificate in honor of his military service. Tuesday’s commemoration was held at the Manuel Perez Jr. Memorial Plaza (no relation), named for an Army soldier who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and was killed during combat in World War II.

The family of Miguel Perez Jr. was presented with a certificate in honor of his military service during a Veterans Day ceremony in Little Village on Nov. 11, 2025. Perez Jr., who died last month, was a U.S. Army veteran and green card holder who was deported to Mexico, but later returned and received U.S. citizenship in 2019. (WTTW News)

During a separate Veterans Day event at Soldier Field hosted by the city of Chicago, elected leaders and veterans commemorated the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII. The event also paid tribute to the 100th anniversary of Municipal Grant Park Stadium being renamed Soldier Field at the urging of Gold Star mothers and in honor of the U.S. soldiers who died in combat during World War I.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle recognized the African American soldiers of the 370th Infantry Regiment, an all-Black unit of the Illinois National Guard that fought in WWI; Japanese American soldiers of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of WWII; and the Marine Corps’ Navajo code talkers of WWII.

“These men and women fought for freedom overseas at a time when their service was not fully recognized at home,” Preckwinkle said. “Despite the discrimination they faced, their courage and dedication remind us of the strength and character that define this nation at its very best.”

Brig. Gen. Jorge Fonseca, of the Illinois National Guard, served as the keynote speaker for the Soldier Field event. Fonseca, who was born in Mexico and raised in Little Village, spoke about how growing up in a working-class family in the neighborhood impacted him.

“It was there that I learned what service really means, not from generals, not from soldiers, but from neighbors, people who shared what little they had, people who looked out for one another and people who understood that community is strength,” Fonseca said. “That’s where I learned that being an American is not where you were born, it’s about what you’re willing to give.”

An annual anti-militarism rally and march held on Veterans Day in Chicago also took place at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial downtown. The event was hosted by About Face, an organization of post-9/11 veterans against wars, in collaboration with local unions and community groups.

Veterans and rally supporters spoke out against the Trump administration’s cuts to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents being in Chicago.

“ICE agents took an oath, too, an oath to uphold the Constitution and protect people’s rights, but when they intimidate families and separate children from their parents, they break that oath,” said Joanne Gutierrez, an Army Reserve veteran and occupational therapist at Hamline Elementary.

Contact Eunice Alpasan: [email protected]

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