Protest demands end to ICE and Chicago police collaboration

Chicago, IL – 300 people gathered in the Pilsen neighborhood, June 8, to protest recent escalations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Trump administration. The protest was called in response to collaboration between the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and ICE agents this week, but escalations by the police and National Guard in Los Angeles a day before made it even more urgent.

“We know we have a right to be here; we have a right to fight against unjust deportations, we know we have a right to fight for justice,” Omar Flores, chairperson of the Immigrant Rights Working Committee of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR), said in response to a question about a possible militarized response. “Whatever plans [the government] might have, that’s really up to them. We know what we’re doing is right, we know what we’re doing is just.”

Pilsen, a historically Mexican neighborhood, was the site of two ICE abductions on June 2 at a local home and restaurant, respectively. Neighbors have expressed concerns about leaving their houses in the aftermath. The next day, mass detentions took place at an ICE check-in location. CPD actively facilitated and aided the arrests, in apparent violation of Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance.

As a sanctuary city, Chicago has made any municipal collaboration with ICE illegal. Additionally, the Illinois TRUST Act further limits cooperation between any state law enforcement and immigration authorities. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson condemned the mass detentions and arrests in a statement, saying any violations of the Welcoming City Ordinance and the TRUST Act would be fully investigated. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker did not show the same commitment to these sanctuary measures, instead claiming that CPD acted correctly in their handling of mass detentions and ICE arrests.

The protest focused on supporting the local community during a time of widespread fear and the power of visible, sustained resistance to the threats from the Trump administration.

“Across the country, people of all walks of life have risen up to defend their neighbors. We must never think that the people are ok with this, that’s a mistake to think that,” said Erin Boyle, of the National Students for a Democratic Society. “We have proven that when we forcefully show up, we scare ICE off. We saw it in Boyle Heights in LA; and we saw it from CAARPR this past Tuesday in Little Village.”

Protesters rallied then marched down 18th Street, the main hub of Pilsen, and stopped first at the location of the abductions to commemorate the loss of community members. Next, the protest headed to Benito Juarez Community Academy, named after the Mexican freedom fighter and 26th president of Mexico, where leaders took the chance to condemn the recent escalations in Chicago and across the nation.

“Here in Chicago, we have seen the reactionary forces of CPD as they defend ICE, as they take our people away from us, like Gladis Yolanda Chavez,” said John Emiliano, member of Anakbayan at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Gladis Yolanda Chavez, a long-standing immigrant rights organizer in Chicago, was caught up in the mass detentions on June 4.

“Even across the National Tanggol Migrante Network, we have similarly seen countless cases of Filipinos being unjustly and violently detained. Like Kuya Max, Kuya Dante and Aunty Lynn, who are all green card holders and have been rounded up and separated from their families as if they were criminals,” continued Emiliano. Kuya means older brother, a Filipino term of respect.

The Trump regime escalates attacks on immigrants and working people. The immigrant rights movement in Chicago – inspired by the people of Los Angeles – won’t back down in the fight against violent law enforcement and the struggle for legalization for all.

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