As Chicago anticipates the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, local immigration advocates are on high alert for potential mass deportations targeting the city's undocumented population. According to a WGN News report, immigration enforcement operations could potentially commence as early as Tuesday. Meanwhile, Chicago's status as a sanctuary city places it squarely at the focus of Trump's immigration enforcement agenda.
Community leaders and advocacy organizations are not sitting idle; they are working to educate immigrants on their rights amidst the threat of removal. Cardinal Blase Cupich, while on a pilgrimage in Mexico City, shared his solidarity with immigrants and asylum seekers during a Sunday mass service. "The catholic community stands with the people of Chicago speaking out in defense of the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers," Cupich said in a statement obtained by WGN News. President-elect Trump's designated "border czar" Tom Homan indicated that while plans for a crackdown in Chicago are being reviewed, for the safety of federal officers, following leaks of operational details, the city is still a target.
CBS News reported that immigration advocates, such as the Little Village Community Council, are actively disseminating advice to residents. "We're asking them not to sign any document, not to be bamboozled by La Migra, where they could say: 'Hey, you want to go home? Sign here,' and you're actually deporting yourself," Baltazar Enriquez, president of the council, told CBS News.
Despite reassurances from Trump's team that the operation will prioritize criminals, anxiety is rippling through immigrant communities. Nayna Gupta, policy director at the American Immigration Council, told CBS News, "Since fewer than one of 10 undocumented people even have a criminal record, there will be very many swept into this plan." The Illinois TRUST Act and Chicago's Welcoming City Ordinance prohibit local law enforcement from collaborating with federal authorities on immigration enforcement, complicating how the administration will target individuals for deportation.
