Activists remind Chicago immigrants of rights as Trump administration's deportation campaign begins
Fear has been spreading fast in Chicago's immigrant community since the Trump administration officially launched its deportation effort, dubbed Operation Midway Blitz.
A day after the Department of Homeland Security officially announced its crackdown on illegal immigration in Chicago, CBS News on Tuesday confirmed the man behind this summer's controversial immigration enforcement operation in southern California has arrived in Chicago.
Gregory Bovino appeared to preview his deployment in a post on social media last week — to the tune of Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" — saying he'd be "taking this show on the road, to a city near you."
"We're gonna trade these palm trees for some skyscrapers, and the mission continues," he said.
Meantime, a community group canvassing in the Pilsen neighborhood said they always want members of the immigrant community to understand their rights and have an emergency plan, but stressed it's particularly important with the federal immigration crackdown underway.
"The first question should be, 'Am I free to go?' If the answer is no, then you should say, 'I am exercising my right to remain silent,'" said Tovia Siegel, director of organizing and leadership for The Resurrection Project.
Another key point people should not allow people have the right to deny entry to their property if an agent does not have a valid warrant signed by a judge, and that if the person, if somebody is detained, they have the right to speak to a lawyer and to make a phone call.
Siegel led a coordinated canvassing effort in Pilsen on Tuesday afternoon. Members of the nonprofit, based on the city's Southwest Side, handed out "Know Your Rights" business cards to residents and knocked on the door of local businesses, asking to hang "Know Your Rights" posters across the area.
"They'll have the right to deny entry to their property if an agent does not have a valid warrant signed by the judge," Siegel said. "If the person, if somebody is detained, they have the right to speak to a lawyer and to make a phone call."
Siegel explained that there's a phone number for residents to call to report ICE activity; and, if someone is detained, there's an online form for their loved ones to fill out on their behalf to seek legal representation for them.
The canvassing effort comes after the Trump administration's border czar, Tom Homan, told reporters on Tuesday that they are specifically targeting public safety and national security threats.
"We're not out sweeping neighborhoods. We're not out looking for non-criminals. Now, if we run into a non-criminal during these operations, they're absolutely going to be taken in custody," Homan said.
The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday also said that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were not raiding or targeting schools.
A spokeswoman said officers would need a secondary supervisor before any action could be taken in certain locations, including schools.
Siegel said the immigrant community remains highly anxious about what's coming.
"People are terrified. I know people who haven't left their homes. We've heard from schools that parents are afraid to take their children to school. Children are afraid their parents won't be home when they get home from school. People are fearful about going to work. They're sending their kids out to the store so that they don't need to leave the house," she said. "There is widespread uncertainty, widespread fear, and that's part of the administration's goal is to spread fear, is to cause chaos. It is not to keep communities safer."
The Resurrection Project pointed to IllinoisImmigrationInfo.org as an important, comprehensive website providing information to immigrant families across Illinois.
