Echoing the raids in L.A., parts of Chicago are untouched by ICE, others under siege

CHICAGO — The Chicago area has become a split screen between daily life and a city under siege since the Trump administration announced its intention to expedite, forcibly detain and deport thousands of immigrants here.

While many people shop, go to work, walk their dogs, and stroll through parks with friends, others are chased, tear-gassed, detained, and assaulted by federal agents conducting immigration sweeps.

This situation is similar to what happens in Los Angeles during the summer months; ICE swept across Southern California, picking people off the streets and raiding car washes and Home Depots in predominantly Latino areas, while large swathes of the region remained untouched.

Take Sunday, the day of the Chicago Marathon.

Nearly 50,000 runners from more than 100 countries and all 50 states gathered downtown to jog, jog and scramble for 26.3 miles along the Lake Michigan shoreline and city streets.

The sun was bright, temperatures hovered in the upper 60s, and the leaves of maple, oak, aspen and ginkgo trees colored the city with patches of yellow, orange and red.

It was one of those rare, gorgeous Midwestern fall days when everyone stepped outside to soak up the sunshine, knowing that the gloom and cold of winter was about to take over.

At 12:30 p.m., Belgians Ludwig Marchel and Karen Vanherck walked west along East Monroe Street through Millennium Park. They smiled and proudly wore the medals around their necks in memory of their marathon accomplishments. They said they were not worried about coming to Chicago, despite news reports describing violent protests and raids and the Trump administration’s description of the city as a “war-torn,” “hellhole,” a “killing field” and “the most dangerous city in the world.”

“Honestly, I was mostly worried that the government shutdown would somehow affect my flight,” Marchel said. He said he saw nothing in the few days he spent in town that would suggest the city was unsafe.

Another man, who did not want to give his name, said he came from Mexico City to complete the race. He said he wasn’t worried either.

“I have my passport, I have my visa and I have money,” he said. “Why should I worry?”

At the same time, 10 miles to the northwest, a The community was being exposed to tear gas.

As federal immigration agents tried to apprehend one man and detain others, dozens of residents in the quiet, leafy neighborhood of Albany Park gathered in the street to shout “traitor” and “Nazi.”

According to eyewitness accounts, agents in at least three vehicles got out of the vehicle and began pushing people to the ground and then threw tear gas canisters into the street. Videos of the event It shows masked agents tackling a person in a red shirt, throwing a person in a skeleton costume to the ground, and violently tossing a bicycle out of the street as several clouds of smoke rise into the air. A woman can be heard screaming as neighbors yell at the agents.

A federal judge last week issued a temporary restraining order requiring agents to give two warnings before using riot control weapons such as tear gas, chemical sprays, rubber bullets and flash grenades.

Witnesses he told the Chicago Sun-Times He said no warning was given.

Chicago community member Deirdre Anglin attended a demonstration near the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Broadview, Illinois, on October 10.

(Kayana Szymczak/For The Times)

Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested or detained since Trump’s “Operation Midway Raid” was launched more than six weeks ago.

There are daily protests at the ICE detention facility in the suburb of Broadview, 12 miles west of downtown. While most have been peaceful, some have escalated into physical confrontations between federal agents or police and protesters.

In September, federal agents fired pepper spray and tear gas at protesters who gathered peacefully outside the facility. On Saturday, local law enforcement forced protesters away from the area, threatening them with sticks and tear gas. Several protesters were knocked to the ground and forcibly handcuffed. 15 people were detained in the evening.

About two dozen protesters returned to the area by early Sunday afternoon. They played music, danced, socialized and intercepted ICE vehicles as they entered and exited the fenced facility.

In Chicago’s predominantly Latino neighborhood of Little Village, all seemed quiet on Sunday afternoon.

Affectionately known to its residents as “Mexico’s Midwestern capital,” the region of 85,000 is predominantly Latino. Chicago city councilman and ward alderman Michael Rodriguez said 85% of the population is of Mexican descent.

On Sunday afternoon, traditional Mexican music was broadcast to the street through speakers at OK Corral VIP, a western clothing store.

Demonstrators protest near the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Broadview, Illinois, on October 10.

(Kayana Szymczak/For The Times)

Along East 26th Street, where stores and buildings are painted with brightly colored murals depicting Mexican folklore, history and wildlife (like golden eagles and jaguars), a family sat at a table eating lunch while two young women in their early 20s laughed and chatted as they walked west toward Kedzie Boulevard.

Despite appearances, “people are scared,” Rodriguez said.

He said he spoke with a teacher who complained that some of her elementary-age students were no longer coming to classes. Their parents are too afraid to walk them around or take them to school; They hear stories of other parents being arrested or detained by ICE agents at other campuses around the city in front of their terrified children.

Rodriguez’s wife, whom he describes as a dark-skinned Latina who graduated from DePaul and Northwestern universities, does not leave home without her passport.

On the 26th, at the barbershop called Peluqueria 5 Star Fades Estrellas, a hairdresser named Juan Garcia was sitting on a chair near the store entrance. He had a towel wrapped around the back of his neck. He said his English was limited, but he knew enough to tell a visitor that things were bad.

“People aren’t coming,” he said. “They are afraid.”

Victor Sanchez, owner of a taco truck parked on Kedzie Road about a half-mile south of town, said his customers, mostly construction workers and landscape architects, have largely disappeared.

“Business is down 60%,” he told a customer. “I don’t know if they were taken away or if they are afraid to go out. All I know is that they won’t come here anymore.”

Rodriguez said ICE agents have arrested people who live in his neighborhood, but those arrests have occurred outside the county’s borders.

“I think they know this is a well-organized and informed neighborhood,” he said. “I guess they took stock and decided to catch people from the slums.”