ICE
The Trump administration has singled out Chicago as its latest mark for immigration enforcement, using traffic stops in immigrant-heavy areas and targeting day laborers outside hardware stores.
County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and others on Wednesday said the tactics employed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have undermined the have left families “torn apart.”
Despite fears of enhanced immigration enforcement, the Little Village Mexican Independence Day Parade took place this weekend without any issues. On Monday, events continued for El Grito, an annual celebration marking Mexico’s independence.
“We need more information,” Gov. JB Pritzker said at a press event Monday in Chicago. “We’ve asked ICE for all of the information around it, they have given very little.”
“This should come from the top, yet with each new crisis in recent years, we are reminded that we cannot rely on President Trump to tamp down the anger and the passion in the aftermath of political violence,” Gov. JB Pritzker said. “Instead, he actively fans the flames of division.”
A federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot a man while carrying out an enforcement operation in suburban Franklin Park on Friday morning, the agency announced.
Since sending the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., Trump has openly mused about sending troops to some of the nation’s most Democratic cities — including Chicago and Baltimore — even as data shows most violent crime in those places and around the country has declined in recent years.
Events include the annual parade at the Little Village Arch on Sunday and the El Grito celebration in Pilsen on Monday. They celebrate the anniversary of the start of Mexico’s decade-long fight for independence from Spain.
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Monday leaves open the possibility that ICE agents can use ethnicity among other factors when making immigration sweeps. The ruling coincides with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s announcement of “Operation Midway Blitz,” which is expected to ramp up ICE’s presence in Chicago.
Homeland Security officials on Monday said they intend to target “criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois” in a new immigration operation after an Illinois woman was killed in a drunk driving crash allegedly involving an undocumented immigrant early this year.
The conservative majority lifted a restraining order from a judge who found that “roving patrols” were conducting indiscriminate stops in and around LA. The order had barred immigration agents from stopping people solely based on their race, language, job or location.
For the Chicago Police Department, the challenge is acute. The force must preserve public safety in a city already under strain while avoiding the appearance of working hand-in-hand with federal immigration authorities, a stance that could erode community trust and ignite new protests.
This year the typically joyful period coincides with Trump’s threats to add Chicago to the list of other Democratic-led cities he has targeted for expanded federal enforcement. His administration has said it will step up immigration enforcement in Chicago
Immigration and Customs Enforcement strike teams are likely to begin operations around Chicago in the coming days, and local officials expect agents to target large gatherings like Sunday’s parade in Little Village and Saturday’s 26th Street Mexican Independence Day Parade in Pilsen.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement strike teams are likely to hit Chicago’s streets late Friday or Saturday morning after gathering at Naval Station Great Lakes, which is about 35 miles outside of the city, Gov. JB Pritzker said.
While Trump’s aggressive deportation plans accelerate, Gregory Bovino carefully hones his image, both his own and the one projected to the country that shows well-armed officers moving swiftly into place to make arrests.