President Donald Trump appears to have backtracked on his threats to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, instead shifting his focus to Memphis, Tennessee, where he claims the Democratic mayor and Republican governor welcome the troops. Black and Democratic Memphis Mayor Paul Young has since stated that he is “not happy” with Trump’s decision to send the troops to his city.
Though a military occupation of Chicago doesn’t seem to be in the works at the moment, the city’s organizing community has not backed down from their fight against a federal immigrant removal operation underway in the Chicagoland area.
“President Trump has announced he will not be sending federal troops to occupy Chicago. This didn’t happen by chance. This was the direct result of an intentional partnership among community organizations, religious institutions, labor unions, and local and state governments. This victory is not just one for our city — it’s a model for the country,” West-side based nonprofit Equity and Transformation (E.A.T.) wrote in a public statement.
However, the activists warned that the fight isn’t over. On Sept. 12, ICE fatally shot a 38-year-old man named Silverio Villegas González in the northwest suburb of Franklin Park, about 18 miles outside of downtown Chicago.
“Policing and immigration enforcement are still an active threat in our communities,” the E.A.T. press release continued. “True safety doesn’t come from militarization — it comes from communities where people have the resources to live with dignity and stability.”
Since the Trump administration has boosted the number of U.S. Immigration and Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agents, which is currently targeting and detaining mainly individuals of Hispanic descent through the so-called “Operation Midway Blitz,” Chicago organizers are utilizing various tactics to fight back, including rapid response strategies, Know Your Rights trainings, and demonstrations outside hotels where they suspect the feds are staying.
“We decided to call an action to take the people right to the base and demand that these ICE agents, these federal agents, who are training to terrorize our communities, that they not be allowed to stay there,” said Kamran Siddiqi, an organizer with the Chicago branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL).
The group has been organizing demonstrations at the Naval Station Great Lakes near suburban North Chicago and the Hampton Inn in west suburban Downers Grove, where ICE agents were reportedly being housed. Videos of the “Noise Demo: No Sleep for DHS Agents!” outside the Hampton Inn show protestors chanting while holding picket signs. Downers Grove is about a 15-minute drive from Broadview, where an ICE processing facility is located.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation announced a rally at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Medical Center for Sept.15 at 4:00 p.m. in the western suburb of Hines, Illinois. According to PSL, “ICE is currently staging vehicles” at the medical center which they called a “direct threat to veterans, VA staff” and larger communities.
Siddiqi added that the shift in tactics from protesting in downtown Chicago to taking their voice directly to the federal agents is something they had to do, as the federal agents are known to make arrests quickly. PSL encourages people to call the hotel where they suspect federal agents are staying: initially, it was the Hampton Inn in Downers Grove. On Sept. 14, they began shifting their efforts to a Courtyard Marriott by Midway Airport at 6610 S. Cicero Avenue.
“They’re sleeping in hotels in the very communities that they then wake up to go and terrorize,” Siddiqi said about the agents, “and there’s a lot of people who are unhappy about that. So our message to the hotels like the Hampton Inn in Downers Grove or any other hotel allowing these agents to sleep there, is to kick them out.”
Other community groups are implementing rapid response strategies. These responses include alerts about the location of ICE activity, documenting ICE activity and having proper resources to help detained individuals. As part of the Southwest Rapid Response Team, the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council puts out community alerts with details about ICE activity.
On Sept. 7, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, three people were detained by ICE agents on the 14th Ward on the Southwest Side. One was caught on video by witnesses. The TRiiBE is collaborating with newsrooms across Chicago to collect videos by residents of arrests and other federal agent activity.
“Chicago is prepared,” said Alec Ozawa, a co-chair of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR), which is part of the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda (CATA). “I think a lot of the different tactics have been seen in the diversity of our movement. The alliance has a rich history of resistance and showing that resistance and mass protests and mobilizations, and we’re able to bring that. There’s been a massive effort from every corner of the movement to come together, and just resist these attacks. And it seems it’s proven that it’s working.”
Ozawa said he really admires the rapid response efforts, which are working to keep people safe.
“We’re seeing a lot of stuff online where, with social media and the Internet, we have more information than ever, and we’re getting developing news while it’s happening,” he said. “A lot of rapid response networks are going out as soon as they get a notification.”
Jae Franklin is the chair of the Anti-War Committee of Chicago, which also is part of CATA. They’ve put on anti-Trump and anti-ICE protests in downtown Chicago. On Sept. 13, the coalition joined forces with Milwaukee Fights Back to protest outside the Naval Station Great Lakes at 5:00 p.m.
Franklin said the tactics that have been used by the communities across Chicago show how the city supports one another.
“Some of the most impactful things that I’ve seen are rapid response teams going directly to the sites where ICE is showing up, taking pictures of what’s happening, documenting what’s happening,” Franklin said. “There are people who are physically putting themselves in between vehicles, not allowing ICE trucks into facilities, so they can’t process the people that they’ve kidnapped and arrested.”
Franklin added that the mass text alerts created by CATA are a good way to stay involved and led to the mobilization of “thousands of people.”
“I think that’s just a really good sign of what people are wanting, what people are needing in terms of what to do in times like this,” Franklin said. “Because, of course, like I said, mass mobilization is a big part of this, but so is being ready to get on the scene and document for people who may not be able to document.”
Organizer Kelly Hayes took to Facebook to say that Trump backtracking on sending in the troops shows the impact of Chicago’s strength in solidarity, but to take it as a sign to continue the work.
“Chicago’s mayor, governor and, most importantly, its residents held the line in opposition to a military deployment here,” Hayes said in the post. “This is not the end of a struggle. This is a moment that should remind us of our power and embolden us to do more.”
