\u201cAs your alderperson, not just of the 26th Ward because every Chicagoan matters, I will make sure that we utilize every legislative tool at our disposal to slow ICE down to protect our neighbors,\u201d Fuentes told the crowd.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251001_ICE-Protests-BCC_MH-042-1024x683.jpg\")
Protestors demonstrating against ICE and the National Guard deployment gather in Downtown on Oct. 8, 2025. Credit: Mustafa Hussain for Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n
Jason, a teacher in a predominantly Latin-American community who declined to share his last name for safety reasons, turned out for Wednesday\u2019s march and said he personally knows U.S. citizens who ICE agents have detained.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my community where I teach, there\u2019s kids not coming to school for a month at a time because they\u2019re scared of what can happen to them,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m overwhelmed with blinding anger and depression for the people who are being affected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jason said he also attended a protest at the ICE facility in suburban Broadview and knows several people who federal agents brutalized there.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey shot my friend in the face,\u201d he said, referring to the non-lethal rounds and chemical agents that have regularly been used by immigration authorities in Broadview. \u201cLuckily, they were wearing goggles \u2014 but I can\u2019t imagine what would\u2019ve happened if they weren\u2019t. I\u2019ve never seen anything like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Protesters chanted, \u201cDonald Trump, you stupid clown; ICE ain\u2019t welcome in this town.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251001_ICE-Protests-BCC_MH-028-1024x683.jpg\")
Protestors demonstrating against ICE and National Guard deployment gather Downtown Credit: Photo by Mustafa Hussain<\/p>\n
Bicycle convoys of police officers accompanied the crowd as protesters marched.<\/p>\n
The march was organized by a broad alliance of progressive organizations under the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda, including the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, the Chicago Teachers Union and United Working Families.<\/p>\n
The protest was the latest way Chicagoans have rallied against the immigration enforcement operations.<\/p>\n
In September, ICE and Border Patrol launched operations Midway Blitz and At Large, which are supposed to focus on arresting and removing undocumented immigrants with serious criminal histories.<\/p>\n
But over the past month, federal agents have\u00a0shot at least two people<\/a>,\u00a0killing one<\/a>; repeatedly\u00a0tear-gassed protesters<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0first responders<\/a>;\u00a0shot rubber bullets<\/a>\u00a0at protesters;\u00a0detained U.S. citizens<\/a>,\u00a0including children<\/a>;\u00a0handcuffed a Chicago alderperson in a hospital<\/a>;\u00a0smoke bombed and tear-gassed a Chicago street<\/a>;\u00a0fired a chemical weapon at a TV reporter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0detained a journalist<\/a>, among other incidents.<\/p>\n Many local protests have been centered around the Broadview facility. Trump\u2019s administration has said National Guard troops are needed to protect ICE officials and facilities.<\/p>\n But officials have expressed concerns about the Trump administration taking control of the National Guard \u2014\u00a0deployments are typically only done at the request of a state\u2019s governor \u2014 and forcing federal troops into Illinois against the wishes of elected leaders and residents.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251001_ICE-Protests-BCC_MH-035-1024x683.jpg\")
Protestors demonstrating against ICE and National Guard deployment gather Downtown on Oct. 8, 2025. Credit: Mustafa Hussain for Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n