With immigration raids allegedly coming, here are tips from Chicago community groups on what to do.
By Sophia Kalakailo
Neighbors and supporters rally for immigration rights in Little Village in February 2025. (Alonso Vidal/for City Bureau)
Federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement could begin a massive operation in Chicago as soon this weekend, according to state and city officials. That crackdown could correspond with what could be a deployment of the National Guard in the city. President Donald Trump said feds were headed to Chicago after at least nine people were killed and over 50 people were wounded over Labor Day weekend. Trump has inaccurately called Chicago “the world’s most dangerous city” and “murder capital of the world.”
(Fact-check: Chicago’s rate of violent crime, which spiked during the early years of the pandemic, has consistently dropped in recent years. Crime and the social conditions that lead to crime remain persistent issues, but this summer, the city logged the fewest homicides in six decades, according to a WBEZ analysis).
Organizers, local groups and neighbors are rallying to help keep our communities informed. Here’s what you need to know, how to connect with groups who can help, and where to get more information.
Editor’s note: The information here is not a substitute for legal advice. If you need legal advice, you should contact a qualified attorney.
How can I get immediate help?
Call the Family Support Network Hotline, 1-855-435-7693 or 1-855-HELP-MY-FAMILY
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights hotline is available to report suspected ICE activity, and get connected with legal and social services, including legal support for deportations. Live operators are available:
6 a.m.-9 p.m. every day in English and Spanish
9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday in Arabic, Chinese, Dari, Korean, Pashto, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian.
If you call outside of those times, you can expect a call back within 48 hours.
Where will the feds be?
This isn’t entirely known publicly, but Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced this week that ICE agents could start their operations as soon as Sept 6. The governor believes the timing is meant to correspond with planned Mexican Independence Day celebrations, and agents are intending to target picnics, festivals, parades and other public gatherings as part of their operations.
“It breaks my heart to report that we have been told ICE will try and disrupt community picnics and peaceful parades,” Pritzker said this week. “The terror and cruelty is the point, not the safety of anyone living here.”
The Sun-Times reported hundreds of federal agents are already arriving at the Great Lakes naval station in the north suburbs.
Illinois senators are pushing for more information about how the feds plan to deploy National Guard members in the city.
What to do if you think ICE is in your neighborhood
Family Support Network Hotline, 855-435-7693 or 1-855-HELP-MY-FAMILY
ICIRR’s Rapid Response team regularly canvasses areas to check out suspected ICE activity. They will see what’s going on and update community members.Sign up to join Pilsen Unidos por Nuestro Orgullo’s (PUÑO) Migra Watch team to learn how to identify federal agents, document ICE activity, and support immigrants in our communities 1-3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, at 2172 W. Cermak Road.
The National Immigrant Justice Center recommends that you do not:
Post unverified information about ICE activity on social media
Interfere with the investigation or otherwise put yourself in harm’s way
Prepare and get support
The Illinois Immigration Information Hub* is a free, multilingual online resource with up-to-date information on getting legal help, what to do if your loved one has been detained, preparing for potential ICE raids and more.
You can:
Download and print Know Your Rights door signs and ID cards (Both are available in Arabic, Chinese, Dari/Farsi, English, French, Gujarati, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Korean, Pashto, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian, Urdu and Vietnamese)
Find an immigration attorney or other legal help
Get help if a loved one is detained at home, at work, in your car or elsewhere in public
Learn what to do if ICE shows up at immigration court
Get help creating a family emergency plan
Keep up with latest changes in immigration law
You can also sign up for virtual Know Your Rights training.
*The hub is a collaboration among Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, The Resurrection Project, National Immigrant Justice Center, Illinois Department of Human Services and the city’s Office of Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights.
The city of Chicago’s Know Your Rights resource hub also has Family Preparedness plans in English and in Spanish from the city’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Rights, The Resurrection Project and Loyola University School of Law. These guides provide help on arranging for child care, gathering important documents, creating emergency contact lists and talking to your family about what to do in an emergency.
Neighbors pushing for immigration rights rally in La Villita Park in February 2025. (Alonso Vidal/for City Bureau)
Know Your Rights
Several organizations have information to help you understand your rights if you are approached by a federal agent or detained. The following list is a summary of information provided by ICIRR, Illinois Immigration Information Hub and National Immigrant Justice Center:
You have the right to remain silent and not speak to federal agents
You have the right to speak to an attorney
You have the right to ask to see a warrant signed by a federal judge
The National Immigrant Justice Center has examples of what a valid warrant should look like. Federal agents cannot enter your home without this.
Try to stay calm, don’t make sudden movements, and keep your hands where agents can see them.
Do not:
Open the door for any officer at your home. Federal agents cannot enter your home without a warrant signed by a judge.
Sign any documents you don’t understand
Discuss your immigration case or legal status with police or federal officers
Lie about your legal status or falsify documents
Do:
Say you want to speak to a lawyer
Carry copies of your documentation proving you are a U.S. citizen or are in the country legally
Move to a safe indoor location if you see immigration officers outside
Several organizations offer regular trainings to help you understand your constitutional rights and what to do if you encounter ICE agents:
HANA Center, Know Your Rights workshop: Thursdays at 1 p.m., online | Register
The Resurrection Project - Immigrant Justice: Tuesdays at 2 p.m. (English); Thursdays at 6 p.m. (Spanish) | Sign up for a virtual training or request a training
Equity and Transformation and Black Voter Project are hosting Know Your Rights training sessions in West Englewood and West Garfield Park. Sign up here.
West Side training: 10 a.m. -noon Saturday, Sept. 6 at St. Michael Missionary Baptist Church, 4106 W. Monroe St.
South Side training: 4-7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14 at Go Green Griot Plaza, 1201 W. 63rd St.
The ACLU also provides guidance in English and en español on what to do if you encounter ICE agents in different scenarios.
You can also find information through the city of Chicago’s Know Your Rights resource hub. You can download guides in Chinese, English, French, Haitian Creole, Spanish and Ukrainian
Where to get legal help
ICIRR Family Support Network Hotline, 855-435-7693
The Resurrection Project: You can fill out a form if ICE detains your loved one
Illinois Access to Justice: List of free immigration legal providers in Chicago
National Immigrant Justice Center. Chicagoans are eligible for free legal services from NIJC through the city’s Legal Protection Fund
First Defense Legal Aid hotline | Call 1-800-529-7374 to connect with community and legal resources
Other resources:
Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP)
The advocacy coalition of organizations in five Southwest Side neighborhoods provides Know Your Rights training, helps people apply for citizenship and connects immigrant families to services and legal help.
The undocumented-led organization offers a resource database that includes support for legal help, health care and food assistance.
These two groups are partnering with Westside Justice Center, First Defense Legal Aid and National Lawyers Guild to organize Know York Rights trainings and operate a community care network to support neighbors.
The Muslim civil rights organization also has information on what to do if federal agents show up at your masjid and how to avoid immigration scams.
What to know about getting legal advice | Borderless Magazine
What to know about deportation proceedings | Borderless Magazine
A Little Village neighbor cheers on demonstrators protesting increased federal immigration enforcement in February 2025. (Alonso Vidal/for City Bureau)
Chicago’s sanctuary city laws
Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order Aug. 30 in an attempt to protect residents from federal agents or troops deployed in the city. The order says that Chicago Police would remain a city agency and urges federal law enforcement to abide by the city’s policing laws. The city will also submit information requests to federal immigration authorities to keep tabs on future deployments.
The order also reaffirmed Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance, which provides some protections for immigrant residents, regardless of their status.
Under the ordinance:
City agencies and their employees, including police officers, are prohibited from sharing information with ICE.
The Chicago Police Department is prohibited from questioning, arresting, or prosecuting individuals solely based on immigration status. Chicago police also cannot hold people on immigration detainers without a court order and are prohibited from doing so on behalf of ICE too.
City agencies cannot deny services based on immigration status.
The city cannot cooperate with federal immigration authorities in ways that would harm undocumented residents.
However, CPD has been scrutinized for its presence during a June 4 ICE raid at a South Loop facility where agents arrested at least 10 people, Block Club reported. Some city leaders have called for an investigation into whether Chicago police officers helped ICE during the raid, which would violate the Welcoming City Ordinance.
Chicago Public Schools has also reiterated its policies related to immigration enforcement in recent weeks. Under those procedures, CPS:
Does not ask for families' immigration status
Will not coordinate with federal representatives, including ICE
Does not share student records with ICE or any other federal representatives, except in the rare case where there is a court order or consent from the parent/guardian
Will not allow ICE agents or any other federal representatives access to CPS schools or facilities without a criminal judicial warrant signed by a federal judge
Mexican Independence Day celebrations
Pilsen’s Mexican Independence Day Parade on 18th Street is still scheduled for noon Saturday, Sept. 6, as of Thursday afternoon. Volunteers marshals are planning to monitor the route to quickly alert people to any federal agents present.
Organizers said they’re determined to keep the celebrations going as a way to resist deportation threats from the federal government.
El Grito, which was planned for Sept, 13-14, has been called off amid the concerns about immigration crackdowns.
The Little Village 26th Street Mexican Independence Day Parade was still scheduled for Sept. 14. As of Thursday, organizers said they are working with local officials to monitor the situation and see how to best keep everyone safe.
Take Action
Organize with Chicago’s branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation
Attend an organizing meeting at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, at the Chicago Liberation Center on 2712 W. Cermak Road.
Join a protest on Sheridan Road and Martin Luther King Drive outside the north suburban Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago at noon Saturday, Sept. 6
Join an emergency protest with the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda and Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6 at Ida B. Wells Drive and Michigan Avenue.
Join the Know Your Rights Community Canvassing from 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, following PUÑO’s Migra Watch Training session at 2172 W. Cermak Roa.
Volunteer for the ICIRR’s Court Watch program. Volunteers spend a few hours per month observing and bearing witness to detained immigrants’ hearings. Email icirrcourtwatch@gmail.com to get involved.
Keep up on the news
El Grito Chicago Called Off As ICE Agents Sent To City: ‘We Need To Keep Our Community Safe’| Block Club Chicago
Pilsen Mexican Independence Day parade to be held with precautions amid potential deportation campaign | Sun-Times
How Summer Festival Organizers Leaned into Community Resources to Resist ICE | Borderless
We keep us safe: Trainings, workshops and resources for Chicagoans ahead of Trump’s feds deployment | The TRiiBE
Flash-bang grenades and early morning raids: How Trump is planning to target Chicago | Sun-Times
CTU calls for remote learning option for families amid looming immigration raids | WBEZ
Residents of Chicago’s most violent block don’t want Trump to send the National Guard | WBEZ
Immigration Advocates Sound Alarm After ICE Arrests At Domestic Violence Court | Block Club
Mayor Johnson signs 'Protecting Chicago Initiative' in attempt to safeguard city from federal agents, troops | Sun-Times
Sophia Kalakailo is a Report for America corps member covering Chicago’s South and West sides. She focuses on holding public officials accountable to their communities, covering civic happenings, and building resources and guides with solutions related to housing, public services and other political issues. Before joining City Bureau, Sophia reported on the Ypsilanti, Michigan area for MLive.