{"id":383148,"date":"2025-11-16T14:40:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T14:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/383148\/"},"modified":"2025-11-16T14:40:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T14:40:16","slug":"chicagos-pushback-to-immigration-crackdown-grows-inspiring-other-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/383148\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago’s pushback to immigration crackdown grows, inspiring other cities"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 Baltazar Enriquez starts most mornings with street patrols, leaving his home in Chicago\u2019s Little Village on foot or by car to find immigration agents that have repeatedly targeted<\/a> his largely Mexican neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Wearing an orange whistle around his neck, the activist broadcasts his plans on Facebook.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know if they\u2019re going to come back. All we know is we\u2019ve got to get ready,\u201d he tells thousands of followers. \u201cGive us any tips if you see any suspicious cars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moments later, his phone buzzes.<\/p>\n

As an unprecedented immigration crackdown enters a third month, a growing number of Chicago residents are fighting back<\/a> against what they deem a racist<\/a> and aggressive<\/a> overreach of the federal government. The Democratic stronghold\u2019s response has tapped established activists and everyday residents from wealthy suburbs to working class neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

They say their efforts \u2014 community patrols, rapid responders<\/a>, school escorts, vendor buyouts<\/a>, honking horns<\/a> and blowing whistles \u2014 are a uniquely Chicago response that other cities President Donald Trump has targeted for federal intervention<\/a> want to model.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe strategy here is to make us afraid. The response from Chicago is a bunch of obscenities and \u2018no,\u2019\u201d said Anna Zolkowski Sobor, whose North Side neighborhood saw agents throw tear gas and tackle an elderly man. \u201cWe are all Chicagoans who deserve to be here. Leave us alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sound of resistance<\/p>\n

Perhaps the clearest indicator of Chicago\u2019s growing resistance is the sound of whistles.<\/p>\n

Enriquez is credited with being among the first to introduce the concept. For months Little Village residents have used them to broadcast the persistent presence of immigration agents.<\/p>\n

Furious blasts both warn and attract observers who record video or criticize agents. Arrests, often referred to as kidnappings because many agents cover their faces, draw increasingly agitated crowds. Immigration agents have responded aggressively.<\/p>\n

Officers fatally shot<\/a> one man during a traffic stop, while other agents use tear gas, rubber bullets and physical force<\/a>. In early November, Chicago police were called to investigate shots fired<\/a> at agents. No one was injured. <\/p>\n

Activists say they discourage violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have guns. All we have is a whistle,\u201d Enriquez said. \u201cThat has become a method that has saved people from being kidnapped and unlawful arrest.\u201d<\/p>\n

By October, neighborhoods citywide were hosting so-called \u201cWhistlemania\u201d events to pack the brightly colored devices for distribution through businesses and free book hutches.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey want that orange whistle,\u201d said Gabe Gonzalez, an activist. \u201cThey want to nod to each other in the street and know they are part of this movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Midwestern sensibilities and organizing roots<\/p>\n

Even with its 2.7 million people, Chicago residents like to say the nation\u2019s third-largest city operates as a collection of small towns with Midwest sensibilities.<\/p>\n

People generally know their neighbors and offer help. Word spreads quickly.<\/p>\n

When immigration agents began targeting food vendors, Rick Rosales, enlisted his bicycle advocacy group Cycling x Solidarity. He hosted rides to visit street vendors, buying out their inventory to lower their risk while supporting their business.<\/p>\n

Irais Sosa, co-founder of the apparel store Sin Titulo, started a neighbor program with grocery runs and rideshare gift cards for families afraid of venturing out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat neighborhood feel and support is part of the core of Chicago,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Enriquez\u2019s organization, Little Village Community Council, saw its volunteer walking group which escorts children to school, grow from 13 to 32 students.<\/p>\n

Many also credit the grassroots nature of the resistance to Chicago\u2019s long history of community and union organizing.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s \u201cborder czar\u201d Tom Homan said Chicago area residents were so familiar with their rights that making arrests during a different operation<\/a> this year was difficult.<\/p>\n

So when hundreds of federal agents arrived in September, activists poured energy into an emergency hotline that dispatches response teams to gather intel, including names of those detained. Volunteers would also circulate videos online, warn of reoccurring license plates or follow agents\u2019 cars while honking horns.<\/p>\n

Protests<\/a> have also cropped up quickly. Recently, high school students have launched walkouts.<\/p>\n

Delilah Hernandez, 16, was among dozens from Farragut Career Academy who protested on a school day.She held a sign with the Constitution\u2019s preamble as she walked in Little Village. She knows many people with detained relatives. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere is so much going on,\u201d she said. \u201cYou feel it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A difficult environment<\/p>\n

More than 3,200 people suspected of violating immigration laws have been arrested during the so-called \u201c Operation Midway Blitz.\u201d<\/a> Dozens of U.S. citizens and protesters have been arrested with charges ranging from resisting arrest to conspiring to impede an officer.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Department of Homeland Security defends the operation, alleging officers face hostile crowds as they pursue violent criminals. <\/p>\n

Gregory Bovino<\/a>, the Border Patrol commander who\u2019s brought controversial tactics from operations in Los Angeles, called Chicago a \u201cvery non permissive environment.\u201d He blamed sanctuary protections and elected leaders<\/a> and defended agents\u2019 actions, which are the subject of lawsuits<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But the operation\u2019s intensity could subside soon. <\/p>\n

Bovino told The Associated Press<\/a> this month that U.S. Customs and Border Protection will target other cities. He didn\u2019t elaborate, but Homeland Security officials confirmed Saturday that an immigration enforcement surge<\/a> had begun in Charlotte, North Carolina<\/a>. <\/p>\n

DHS, which oversees CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has said operations won\u2019t end in Chicago. <\/p>\n

Interest nationwide<\/p>\n

Alonso Zaragoza, with a neighborhood organization in the heavily immigrant Belmont Cragin, has printed hundreds of \u201cNo ICE\u201d posters for businesses. Organizers in Oregon and Missouri have asked for advice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s become a model for other cities,\u201d Zaragoza said. \u201cWe\u2019re building leaders in our community who are teaching others.\u201d<\/p>\n

The turnout for virtual know-your-rights<\/a> trainings offered by the pro-democracy group, States at the Core, doubled from 500 to 1,000 over a recent month, drawing participants from New Jersey and Tennessee.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe train and we let go, and the people of Chicago are the ones who run with it,\u201d said organizer Jill Garvey.<\/p>\n

Awaiting the aftermath<\/p>\n

Enriquez completes up to three patrol shifts daily. Beyond the physical exertion, the work takes a toll.<\/p>\n

Federal agents visited his home and questioned family members. A U.S. citizen relative was handcuffed by agents. His car horn no longer works, which he attributes to overuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been very traumatizing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is very scary because you will remember this for the rest of your life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 Baltazar Enriquez starts most mornings with street patrols, leaving his home in Chicago\u2019s Little Village…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":383149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[9600,183158,183157,3881,960,69,183156,57,110594,1819,1818,409,183160,181121,50,80,2068,19500,183159,5414,3676,61,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-383148","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"category-us","9":"tag-activism","10":"tag-alonso-zaragoza","11":"tag-anna-zolkowski-sobor","12":"tag-ap-top-news","13":"tag-chicago","14":"tag-donald-trump","15":"tag-gabe-gonzalez","16":"tag-general-news","17":"tag-gregory-bovino","18":"tag-il-state-wire","19":"tag-illinois","20":"tag-immigration","21":"tag-jill-garvey","22":"tag-local-news-for-apple","23":"tag-news","24":"tag-politics","25":"tag-race-and-ethnicity","26":"tag-racism","27":"tag-rick-rosales","28":"tag-tom-homan","29":"tag-u-s-department-of-homeland-security","30":"tag-u-s-news","31":"tag-united-states","32":"tag-unitedstates","33":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115559899854311335","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=383148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/383149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=383148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=383148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=383148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}