Chicago activists chase ICE out of Little Village

Chicago, IL – On the morning of Tuesday, June 3, residents of Little Village in Chicago stood up to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and drove them out of the neighborhood.

Members of the Immigrant Rights Working Committee of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) spotted suspicious vehicles loitering near the intersection of Troy and 27th Streets and used rapid response techniques to prevent detentions.

Little Village is the heart of the Mexican community in Chicago and often the first stop for immigrants arriving in the city. It has repeatedly been targeted by ICE, with an uptick in sightings reported in the past 48 hours. Local alderpeople Byron Sigcho Lopez, for the 25th Ward, and Mike Rodriguez, for the 22nd Ward, have remained diligent in alerting the neighborhood to ICE presence. Two residents were detained in the nearby Pilsen neighborhood on the morning of June 2, just a day before ICE was spotted in Little Village.

CAARPR members approached the vehicles and noticed law enforcement officers inside wearing “police” vests. The vehicles had standard Illinois license plates, indicating the cars did not belong to the Chicago Police Department and were likely rentals. Local residents asked the agents to roll down their windows and identify themselves, but they refused to do so despite legal requirements that federal agents identify their affiliations upon request.

Nearby businesses and neighbors were alerted to the possible presence of ICE and know your rights materials were distributed. As the crowd around the vehicles grew, the agents left the area, running multiple red lights and using alleys to avoid concerned neighbors. Residents were able to keep track of the vehicles, until they got on the I-55/Stevenson Expressway. After confirming that ICE was no longer in the area, CAARPR members spread the news to local alderpeople and media.

During an interview with CNN in late January, President Donald Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan complained about the level of know your rights education in Chicago, saying, “Chicago, very well educated. They’ve been educated on how to defy ICE, on how to hide from ICE. They call it ‘know your rights.’ I call it how to escape ICE.” The latest sighting and detentions in Chicago demonstrate the city remains a target for the Trump administration.

#ChicagoIL #IL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #CAARPR #NAARPR