{"id":191360,"date":"2025-09-30T03:18:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T03:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/191360\/"},"modified":"2025-09-30T03:18:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T03:18:20","slug":"immigration-enforcement-tactics-escalate-in-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/191360\/","title":{"rendered":"Immigration enforcement tactics escalate in Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 The sight of armed, camouflaged and masked Border Patrol agents<\/a> making arrests near famous downtown Chicago landmarks has amplified concerns about the Trump administration\u2019s growing federal intervention<\/a> across U.S. cities.<\/p>\n

As Illinois leaders warned Monday of a National Guard deployment, residents in the nation\u2019s third-largest city met a brazen weekend escalation of immigration enforcement tactics with anger, fear and fresh claims of discrimination. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks un-American,\u201d said Chicago Alderman Brandon Reilly, who represents downtown on the City Council. He deemed the Sunday display a \u201cphoto opp\u201d for President Donald Trump, echoing other leaders.<\/a><\/p>\n

Memphis, Tennessee,<\/a> and Portland, Oregon<\/a>, also braced for a federal law enforcement surge.<\/p>\n

Trump has called the expansion of federal immigration agents and National Guard troops into American cities necessary, blasting Democrats for crime<\/a> and lax immigration policies. Following a crime crackdown in the District of Columbia<\/a> and immigration enforcement in Los Angeles<\/a>, he\u2019s referred to Portland as \u201cwar-ravaged\u201d and threatened apocalyptic force<\/a> in Chicago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it takes place here in the city or the suburbs, it\u2019s all the same to us,\u201d Border Patrol agent Gregory Bovino<\/a> said in Chicago.<\/p>\n

Attorney General Pam Bondi has issued a memo that also directs component agencies within the Justice Department, including the FBI, to help protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, including in Chicago and Portland.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a snapshot of where things stand with federal law enforcement activity in Chicago, Portland and Memphis.<\/p>\n

Chicago raises alarm about racial profiling<\/p>\n

Many Chicagoans were already uneasy<\/a> after an immigration crackdown<\/a> began earlier this month. Agents have targeted immigrant-heavy and largely Latino<\/a> areas. <\/p>\n

Trump has waffled<\/a> on sending the military, but Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday it appeared the federal government would deploy 100 troops. Pritzker said the Illinois National Guard received word that the Department of Homeland Security sent a memo to the Defense Department requesting troops to protect ICE personnel and facilities.<\/p>\n

An immigration processing center<\/a> outside Chicago has been the site of frequent protests and aggressive tactics<\/a> by federal agents. <\/p>\n

The enforcement recently escalated, with agents using boats on the Chicago River and marching Sunday on Michigan Avenue and in upscale neighborhoods. <\/p>\n

Activists and elected leaders are concerned about discriminatory stops, particularly after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted restrictions<\/a> on roving patrols in LA. The court cleared the way for immigration agents<\/a> to stop people based on race, language, job or location.<\/p>\n

\u201cICE is running around the Loop, harassing people for not being white,\u201d Pritzker said, describing the city\u2019s core business district. <\/p>\n

Activists said a Latino family of four was led away by federal agents Sunday near the popular \u201cCloud Gate\u201d sculpture, commonly called \u201cThe Bean.\u201d Construction workers and bicyclists were also targeted. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe downtown operation of being racially profiled and kidnapped by immigration in broad daylight represents a major escalation by the Trump administration,\u201d said Veronica Castro with Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.<\/p>\n

Bovino told The Associated Press that agents will go after \u201canyone who is here illegally,\u201d an approach that fell under immigration authority, known as Title 8. He told the Chicago Sun-Times that a person\u2019s appearance goes into the calculation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be agent experience, intelligence that indicates there\u2019s illegal aliens in a particular place or location,\u201d he told the newspaper. \u201cThen, obviously, the particular characteristics of an individual, how they look.\u201d<\/p>\n

DHS did not return messages Monday. <\/p>\n

Chicagoans trail Border Patrol<\/p>\n

As Border Patrol agents marched near downtown, a few onlookers nodded in approval and shouted praise while a trail of activists and others urged agents to leave. <\/p>\n

Shirley Zuniga was celebrating her 24th birthday when she saw agents. Still wearing a pink birthday sash, she left brunch to follow them. <\/p>\n

Zuniga, among the first in her family of Honduran immigrants to be born in the United States, said she forgot all about her birthday plans as she yelled at the agents to go home. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is much more important to me,\u201d she said as she grew emotional. \u201cI\u2019m celebrating my people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Portland goes to court<\/p>\n

In Oregon, Democratic Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed a motion in federal court Monday seeking to temporarily block the Trump administration from deploying the National Guard.<\/p>\n

The motion is part of a lawsuit Rayfield filed Sunday, after state leaders received a Defense Department memo that said 200 members of the state\u2019s National Guard will be placed under federal control for 60 days to \u201cprotect Federal property, at locations where protests against these functions are occurring or are likely to occur.\u201d<\/p>\n

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek are among local leaders who object to the deployment.<\/p>\n

\u201cPutting our own military on our streets is an abuse of power and a disservice to our communities and our service members,\u201d Rayfield said in a statement Monday.<\/p>\n

The ICE building outside of Portland\u2019s downtown has been the site of nightly protests that peaked in June, with smaller clashes occurring since then. <\/p>\n

A larger crowd demonstrated at the building Sunday. Two people were arrested for assault, according to authorities. That followed a peaceful march earlier in the day that drew thousands to the city\u2019s downtown and saw no arrests, police said.<\/p>\n

Some residents are already frustrated. <\/p>\n

The building manager of the affordable housing complex adjacent to the ICE building said \u201cthe impacts of violent tactics, including tear gas and late-night altercations, are traumatizing for residents,\u201d including the veterans who live there.<\/p>\n

\u201cSending federal troops will only escalate the situation. The last thing we need is an escalation,\u201d Reach Community Development said in statement.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, federal agents on Monday searched a home associated with someone who allegedly aimed a laser at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter as it flew over Portland on Saturday evening, the FBI said. Four people, who were found to be in the country illegally, were detained and placed under the custody of ICE, according to the FBI, which did not specify the charges they face.<\/p>\n

Memphis residents worry<\/p>\n

Memphis was in wait-and-see mode Monday, the first day of a planned federal law enforcement surge ordered by Trump to fight crime. There were no immediate reports of large-scale federal law enforcement operations.<\/p>\n

Still some residents, including Latinos<\/a>, expressed concerns that immigration agents will detain people regardless of immigration status.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know the presence of the National Guard will lead to our neighbors being afraid to seek help when they need medical care, need to report crimes, or require social services, because of this military presence,\u201d said Sandra Pita, a community organizer.<\/p>\n

The city has experienced high numbers of violent crimes such as carjackings and homicides in recent years, but both Democratic and Republican officials have noted that the majority-Black city is seeing decreases this year in some categories. <\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writers Adrian Sanz in Memphis and Claire Rush in Portland contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 The sight of armed, camouflaged and masked Border Patrol agents making arrests near famous downtown…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191361,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,1927,22149,111495,157,111491,21964,12,793,98303,5630,5629,790,67877,1576,3,3831,2232,3131,111,18223,3766,111492,111493,2219,36387,2222,8638,12955,3770,28387,6148,795,21,792,19,22,20,25,24,111494,800],"class_list":["post-191360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-ap-top-news","tag-border-security","tag-brandon-reilly","tag-chicago","tag-dan-rayfield","tag-discrimination","tag-donald-trump","tag-general-news","tag-gregory-bovino","tag-il-state-wire","tag-illinois","tag-immigration","tag-j-b-pritzker","tag-military-and-defense","tag-news","tag-or-state-wire","tag-oregon","tag-pam-bondi","tag-politics","tag-portland","tag-race-and-ethnicity","tag-sandra-pita","tag-shirley-zuniga","tag-tennessee","tag-tina-kotek","tag-tn-state-wire","tag-u-s-democratic-party","tag-u-s-department-of-defense","tag-u-s-department-of-homeland-security","tag-u-s-federal-bureau-of-investigation","tag-u-s-immigration-and-customs-enforcement","tag-u-s-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-government","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-veronica-castro","tag-washington-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191360\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}