Immigrant rights activists plan to sound the alarm after they say ICE agents arrested two people outside a homeless shelter on the North Side of Chicago.
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights said ICE agents detained and released two people who were outside the shelter at 3034 W. Foster Ave. in the North Park neighborhood. The building was once a U.S. Marine Corps reserve training center, but was purchased by the city in 2023 to transform into a shelter for asylum seekers, and now assists anyone experiencing homelessness in Chicago.
The group said targeting shelters is a new tactic ICE is using to arrest people.
At noon on Wednesday, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights will join the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness, a handful of elected officials, and other activists to hold a news conference, sharing more details about ICE’s tactics and making sure people know their rights.
Immigrant rights groups respond to Dallas shooting at ICE facility
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Organizers also re-emphasized peaceful protests and condemned the shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday morning—a shooting the FBI called “targeted violence” by someone who “fired indiscriminately” at the ICE building from a rooftop.
The executive director for the Center of Immigrant Progress in Lake County said incidents like this are why their work is important, as recent events have created fear.
“We are part of a rapid response committee for Lake County and were seeing a lot of activity. There is more heightened activity and absolutely, there is more fear,” said Jael Mejia, director of legal and civic engagement for the Center for Immigrant Progress.
“Getting involved locally is always the best way to do it, whether it’s through an organization or a church, or a mutual aid group,” said Brandon Lee, director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
In a statement to CBS News Chicago, the assistant DHS secretary Tricial McLaughlin said, “In light of today’s horrific shooting that was motivated by hatred for ICE and the other unprecedented acts of violence against ICE law enforcement, including bomb threats, cars being used a weapons, rocks and Molotov cocktails thrown at officers, and doxing online of officers’ families, DHS will immediately begin increasing security at ICE facilities across the country.”
Meantime, officials in west suburban Broadview reportedly have ordered the removal of a fence installed at an ICE processing facility.
The fence was installed early Tuesday outside the ICE facility in Broadview to prevent protesters from getting too close to the building, after multiple clashes between ICE agents and protesters over the weekend.
Broadview Acting Fire Chief Matthew Martin sent the U.S. Department of Homeland Security a letter demanding that the fence be removed immediately because it was installed without a permit and is blocking access to the street outside the ICE facility.
“In case of fire or other emergencies at businesses located on the street, Broadview Fire apparatus would be unable to use the road to access these businesses,” Martin wrote.
Broadview Fire Department
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