As immigration arrests spike in Chicago, activists escalate tactics to fight back

CHICAGO — Immigration arrests in the Chicago area have surged this month as federal agents broaden enforcement, and activists and immigrant leaders are escalating tactics to fight back. The Trump administration has singled out Chicago as its latest mark for immigration enforcement, citing traffic stops in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods and actions targeting day laborers outside hardware stores. Officials say the focus is on deterring undocumented labor and stemming illegal entry, but advocates say the approach has stirred fear and disrupted everyday life for families.

While federal authorities have offered few public details about the scope of enforcement in Chicago, activists say arrests have occurred at roughly half a dozen Home Depot and Menards stores in the city and surrounding suburbs, resulting in individual detentions. The Latino Union, which represents day laborers, says the city’s immigrant workforce includes about 300 workers who regularly congregate outside hardware stores for short-term jobs. “Our neighbors who build, paint, fix and beautify this city have been the target of these unwarranted attacks,” Miguel Alvelo Rivera of the Latino Union said near a Home Depot in the Brighton Park neighborhood, where agents were observed a day earlier. These scenes have become a focal point for critics who say enforcement tactics threaten families and workers who contribute to local economies.

Activists describe many seizures as abductions because agents often wear masks, drive unmarked vehicles and do not display insignia on their clothing. The accounts, corroborated by witnesses and video posted to social media, have intensified concerns about due process and the safety of bystanders, particularly in neighborhoods with large immigrant populations.

Giselle Maldonado, 23, said two of her uncles — Gabriel Soto-Rivera, 40, and Eder Nicolas Jimenez Barrios, 37 — were detained Monday on Chicago’s west side as they were driving to work as HVAC technicians. Her family learned of the detentions from videos her mother sent to TikTok showing an agent in a vest labeled “Police Federal Agent” speaking with someone in a vehicle. Maldonado said she immediately thought of the children who could be left behind and the losses families endure when a provider is taken away.

In response, activists have quickly mobilized volunteers to monitor sightings of immigration agents, record video and share information to notify families. They circulate license plate numbers of suspected ICE vehicles on social media, organize demonstrations outside hotels where agents are believed to be staying and deploy bike patrols to monitor activity in neighborhoods with large immigrant populations. Baltazar Enriquez, who has begun carrying orange emergency whistles, said the devices provide a quick alert when agents are nearby, a tool he says has helped neighbors close doors and lock gates when technology fails. “If they hear that sound, they immediately start closing their doors, locking their gates,” he said. “This has worked for us here. People are asking us, ‘Can I get a whistle?’”

The overall number of arrests in Chicago remains unclear. DHS has released details on only a few dozen cases publicly, while an Illinois congresswoman briefed by ICE this week said the figure was about 250. Some information released by ICE has appeared to include arrests outside Illinois, fueling skepticism among community groups and lawmakers. In at least one instance, a U.S. citizen was taken into custody.

Before dawn on Tuesday, federal agents, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol agent central to a Los Angeles operation, conducted a high-profile raid at a home in suburban Elgin. They forced open a door as helicopters hovered overhead. DHS said five people were arrested during the operation and that the events were captured on video and later posted to Noem’s social media accounts. A man identified as Joe Botello, born in Texas, told Chicago media outlets he was among those held in handcuffs until he could prove his identity. DHS confirmed he was in custody but disputed the characterization as an arrest.

A second man detained at the same home was ordered released without bond Thursday as prosecutors proceed with the case, with Magistrate Judge Keri Holleb Hotaling noting Carlos Augusto Gonzalez-Leon “has a criminal history of nothing.” Court records show he had previously been arrested and deported to Mexico at least three times between 2013 and 2022. His lawyer, Daniel J. Hesler, described Gonzalez-Leon as a hard worker who provides for a wife in hospice care and for his family in Mexico. The episode underscored how Chicago-area enforcement actions can become politically charged, drawing outcry from elected officials and immigrant advocates alike.

The death of a Mexican man at the hands of ICE in a separate incident near Franklin Park has drawn questions from leaders abroad and at home. Authorities say the officer fired after an encounter with Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, a 38-year-old cook from Michoacán, after he allegedly fled a traffic stop and dragged an officer with his vehicle. The officers said they feared for their safety. Noem praised the unnamed officer as brave, but the Mexican government and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker criticized the incident as the latest flashpoint in a fraught policy debate.

Many in Franklin Park and nearby communities remember Villegas Gonzalez as a family man who attended day care events (he had dropped off one of his children that morning) and who could be kind and respectful to teachers and staff at Local Day Care facilities. The Mexican Consulate in Chicago said it would closely monitor the investigation and work with Mexican authorities to clarify what happened. The episode has amplified questions about the human impact of aggressive enforcement on immigrant families, a concern lawmakers in Illinois say must be addressed in any broader immigration policy discussion.

For residents and organizers, the events have underscored the political dimension of immigration enforcement in the United States. Chicago-area activists say the operations are not merely law-enforcement actions but political statements about who belongs in the country and how communities should respond when enforcement moves into everyday life. While supporters say enforcement is needed to deter illegal immigration and protect public safety, opponents argue that aggressive tactics—especially those conducted at night, at private residences, or in busy commercial corridors—erode trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement and can invite civil-rights challenges.

As policymakers weigh next steps, community leaders say the current environment requires a careful balance of safety, fairness and due process. They argue for clearer public reporting from federal agencies about arrest numbers, more transparent operations, and channels for families to verify the status of loved ones without risking their own safety. They also emphasize the need for resources to assist families during the inevitable disruptions that follow immigration enforcement, including access to legal counsel and social services. In the meantime, residents continue to organize, document what they see and push for accountability at all levels of government, recognizing that immigration policy remains a deeply political issue that will shape elections and state and federal agendas for months to come.