Dozens protested outside an immigration processing center in Broadview on Friday morning as the mayor of the near-west suburb said in a letter to residents that Trump administration officials have told her and other leaders in town that a \u201clarge-scale enforcement campaign will soon be underway\u201d and is likely to continue for about 45 days non-stop.<\/p>\n
The protest precedes several other planned gatherings of immigrant groups and allies in the coming weeks, including at least one additional demonstration against the administration\u2019s plans and multiple long-held celebrations for Mexican Independence Day this month.<\/p>\n
The two-story brick Broadview building used by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency will be the \u201cprimary processing location\u201d for the expected federal immigration incursion, according to the letter<\/a> from Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson to residents.<\/p>\n The letter follows two weeks<\/a> of threats<\/a> and declarations<\/a> from President Donald Trump and members of his administration that an influx of federal agents was set to arrive in Chicago. Trump has also said he has considered sending National Guard troops to Chicago to focus on crime in the city, even though crime numbers have declined in recent years<\/a>. A deployment of ICE and U.S. Border Patrol agents is expected to be more focused on the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to crack down on immigration.<\/p>\n Gov. JB Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and dozens of other mostly Democratic officials have vehemently voiced<\/a> their opposition<\/a> to any additional federal enforcement measures, especially the positioning of Guard troops on the streets of the nation\u2019s third-largest city. Still, Pritzker and the others have said they expect an increased federal presence<\/a> as soon as Friday or Saturday, when Mexican Independence Day festivities are expected to occur.<\/p>\n In the letter to Broadview residents, Thompson wrote that as the ICE facility is expected to serve as the primary processing location for the operation, it is also likely to be a location that will \u201cdraw protests and demonstrations, like those seen earlier this year in Los Angeles, where property damage and assaults against law enforcement were reported.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur priority is to maintain transparency, protect the interests of our residents and ensure the vitality of our business community,\u201d Thompson wrote.<\/p>\n The ICE facility, located at 1930 Beach Street, has been a magnet for protests for months and was the location of another protest on Friday morning.<\/p>\n One key issue about the ICE processing center is the length of detention for individuals there. It is designed to hold people for no more than 12 hours before transferring them to a formal immigration detention facility. But an investigation by the Chicago Tribune<\/a> earlier this year found immigration detainees have been held there for days.<\/p>\n Despite the threat of immigration raids, major Mexican Independence Day celebrations in Pilsen and Little Village, two of Chicago\u2019s predominant Latino neighborhoods, are expected to proceed as planned, community leaders told reporters Friday while also noting there will be some additional precautions.\u00a0<\/p>\n