CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Some residents in Chicago’s largely Latino neighborhoods have become literal whistleblowers as advocates try to put residents on alert that federal immigration enforcement officers, who have arrived by the hundreds this month, may be closing in.
More than 250 people have been arrested by federal officers since “Operation Midway Blitz” began last week in Chicago, officials told NewsNation.
“President Trump has been clear: if politicians will not put the safety of their citizens first, this administration will,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in a social media post Tuesday. “I was on the ground in Chicago today to make clear we are not backing down.”
In response, initiatives aimed at protecting migrants without legal immigration status in Chicago have ramped up. Community leaders and organizers say foot traffic at local restaurants, grocery stores and doctors’ offices in southwest-side neighborhoods including Pilsen, Little Village and Brighton Park has dwindled amid concerns that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies may be present in those areas to detain people on lists of targeted immigrants.
In the suburbs, cities including Evanston and North Chicago have sent out e-mail blasts, alerting residents that local officials have been warned more federal officers will be patrolling local neighborhoods. The increased federal presence has sparked protests in areas around a suburban ICE processing center and around the U.S. Naval Base that serves as the command center for federal immigration officers.
“It is not a time to be afraid, it is not a time to show fear or be silent,” Chicago Alderperson Bryon Sigcho-Lopez told NewsNation. “We are being attacked, our families are being torn apart … So it’s not enough to throw our hands in the air and say we need to accept the new norms.”
Whistles distributed in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood
The Little Village neighborhood once bustled with people, filling restaurants featuring traditional Mexican fare and buzzing around vendors selling everything from ponchos and churros to Mexican street corn and cowboy hats.
But Baltizar Enriquez, the Little Village Community Council president, told NewsNation that in recent months, foot traffic to local businesses had fallen by 50% and the number of attendees at local festivals and parades celebrating Mexican culture had also dwindled significantly since ICE officers began ramping up efforts.
As a result, community leaders began hosting weekly rallies in June, during which more than 2,000 free whistles were distributed as part of a community alert system. Enriquez says the “Blow the Whistle on ICE” campaign is already paying off, not only with community awareness but with safety.
Enriquez said the campaign recently prevented a local family from being detained by ICE after residents who saw vehicles believed to be carrying ICE officers blew their whistles, which alerted federal officers that they had been detected, prompting them to leave the area.
Enriquez calls the initiative a “strong, unified front” in which neighborhood residents like himself who have legal immigration status are encouraged to come forward to help, while warning those who fear they are being targeted to remain out of sight.
“You get four or five of us (blowing whistles) and it gets really loud,” Enriquez said. “So it does work and anything that shows unity does work.”
He added: “The residents in Little Village now know that if they hear that noise, run away and if you do have legal (immigration) status, come toward the noise so you can be a hero to protect the neighborhood by peacefully showing immigration (officers) that you’re not going to come terrorize us.”
Department of Homeland Security officials have decried efforts by individuals to identify and reveal the location of federal immigration officers. When an ICE officer fatally shot an immigrant who was targeted by ICE last week during a traffic stop, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that social media posts meant to empower migrants to fight back puts federal officers at risk.
During the stop, DHS officials said that the driver of the vehicle attempted to run the federal officers over with the vehicle and ended up dragging one of the officers. The officer, who was seriously injured, according to DHS, shot at the driver, who died from his injuries at a local hospital.
DHS officials, including Secretary Noem, without providing actual data, say that because ICE officers are being publicly called out and doxxed, assaults on federal immigration officers have increased “by 1,000%” over this time last year.
Brighton Park Neighborhood Council launches hotline, rapid response teams
The Brighton Park Neighborhood Council has spent years going door-to-door, reminding residents of their rights when it comes to ICE. But the nonprofit ramped up its efforts after the recent detainment of a neighborhood flower vendor by ICE during Operation Midway Blitz.
Council members say they have seen a dramatic increase in the number of tips they’re receiving on their hotline in the past 10 days. Each call represents a possible ICE sighting, which then kicks one of the council’s rapid response teams into action. Those teams have worked nonstop since the start of the enforcement to not only confirm ICE sightings but to continue canvassing neighborhoods to keep residents prepared should they encounter federal officers.
To alleviate fear among residents, council members wear bright orange and buttons reading “Migra Watch,” which translates to “ICE Watch.”
The group says more residents in the swath of southwest side neighborhoods the council serves are subscribing to an “Eyes On ICE” text alert system, which is offered through Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Yet, with more tips being called into the neighborhood council’s hotline by the day, council members are also seeking to dispel fears with truth.
“We don’t want to spread fear, and we want to make sure that we’re spreading the right information,” Any Huamani, the council’s Immigration Defense coordinator, told NewsNation, adding, “This has definitely been very alarming for our community.”
Alderman says governor hasn’t done enough to protect neighborhoods
Sigcho-Lopez told NewsNation that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker “doesn’t know how to respond,” which has forced neighborhood organizers and leaders to fend for themselves.
Chicago alderpersons handed out thousands of Know Your Rights pamphlets during local Mexican Independence Day parades, which took place without incident. But with the federal operation expected to last up to 45 days and a possible National Guard deployment to Chicago still looming, Sigcho-Lopez said communities can’t back down.
“It is important that we alert people of ICE presence because anybody can be at risk,” Sigcho-Lopez said.
Pritzker has encouraged Illinois residents to record video of encounters between federal immigration officers and targeted immigrants as a way of drawing attention to what is happening as part of the influx of federal agents.
Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol commander-at-large overseeing the Chicago operation, has criticized Pritzker for being out of touch. He told NewsNation that local residents who have been marginalized and moved out of local communities by migrants who entered the country illegally want federal immigration officers working to remove dangerous migrant criminals.
“That’s the reality (Pritzker) is ignoring,” Bovino said. “Perhaps the governor would do better to talk to those inner-city residents in his own city to see what they think about illegal immigration.”
Sigcho-Lopez also wants the governor to pay more attention to what is happening in local neighborhoods rather than sparring on social media with Trump and federal officials like Bovino. Pritzker’s office did not respond to a NewsNation request for comment on Sigcho-Lopez’s complaints about the governor.
“This is not the time for political posturing,” Sigcho-Lopez told NewsNation. “This is the time to work on the ground with people who are suffering the consequences .… I think in our community, people can clearly see that we’re on our own.”
