Chicagoans across neighborhoods are changing their daily routines and taking precautions as the city awaits a federal immigration operation President Donald Trump has said will include increased deportations and National Guard deployment.
People in heavily Latino areas report carrying passports and green cards, businesses say foot traffic has declined, and houses of worship and community groups are urging residents to carry identification, record encounters with authorities and share information with legal networks.
Federal officials announced a new operation in Chicago, citing the city’s so-called sanctuary laws that limit cooperation between local police and federal immigration agents. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said recent activity resulted in the detention of 13 people with prior criminal arrests. Activists and some witnesses have reported that armed, masked federal agents detained people in predominantly Latino neighborhoods, a pattern that has intensified community alarm.
President Trump has pledged stiffer enforcement in Democratic-led cities, and the administration’s statements have prompted heightened anxiety. "They're profiling," said Sam Sanchez, a naturalized U.S. citizen and restaurant owner who voted for Trump and said he now asks his wife to carry citizenship papers to public events. "My wife and I went to a wedding and I told my wife, ‘Bring your citizenship papers.'"
In Little Village, a predominantly Mexican neighborhood known for a busy commercial corridor, vendors and shoppers say streets that were once crowded are quieter. "The streets that were busy are dying down," said Galilea Mendez, 25, who visits the neighborhood from the suburbs. Merchants who have worked the area for decades described a drop in sales and a reluctance among customers to come out.
Residents recalled previous rounds of enforcement, including a 2007 daytime raid at a shopping mall and stepped-up activity in 2019 during the former president's first term. There was also a nationwide operation launched from Chicago earlier this year. Still, several immigrant-rights organizers said the current wave feels more intense. "The deportation machine has always existed for decades," said Antonio Gutierrez of Organized Communities Against Deportations. "This feels unprecedented."
Local elected officials and civic leaders have pushed back against the federal approach. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the city is being targeted and pledged legal resistance. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also objected to any federal surge and promised the city would sue. A coalition of pastors, imams and rabbis urged residents of all backgrounds to carry identification, film encounters with authorities and take other precautions. "We will fight for this city," said the Rev. Otis Moss III of Trinity United Church of Christ.
The uncertainty has spilled into other parts of daily life. The Chicago Teachers Union asked district officials to offer online learning options for students whose families fear leaving home — a model used earlier this year in Los Angeles amid immigration enforcement. "Because they had the infrastructure for online learning they were able to direct young people to those spaces," said CTU President Stacy Davis Gates. Chicago Public Schools officials said in-person instruction would continue but that the district would reassess conditions as needed and reiterated that schools do not coordinate with ICE or ask about immigration status.
Community organizations, attorneys and teachers have increased outreach to ensure residents know their rights. Calls to an activists' emergency hotline have jumped in recent days, and some attorneys say clients are afraid to attend court appointments. Churches serving large immigrant populations reported dips in attendance ahead of Mexican Independence Day celebrations that are typically marked by parades and car caravans; some events were canceled and others added security.
Demographic data underscore the scale of concern: roughly 20% of Chicago’s 2.7 million residents are foreign-born, with large populations originating from Mexico, China and India. Racially, the city’s population is roughly divided among white, Black and Latino residents, with smaller Asian communities.
Merchants and artists in neighborhoods such as Pilsen and Little Village said a mood of anxiety and uncertainty has hurt small businesses. "We shouldn’t fear or feel like we can’t walk the same streets that we usually roam," said Fabio Fernandez, owner of an art and T-shirt shop in Pilsen. Longtime vendors urged broader policy attention to economic needs. "He has to support Latinos so we can work, so stores can open, so more sales can happen," said Xochitl Martinez, a clothing merchant.
Community leaders noted that much of the fear stems from a lack of clear information about what federal agents will do and who will be targeted. Activists said weekend arrests sharpened concerns that enforcement is escalating. In response, attorneys and immigrant-rights groups have advised carrying documentation, forming neighborhood support networks and documenting any encounters with law enforcement.
City and state officials are preparing legal and community responses even as the federal government proceeds with operations. The unfolding developments are reshaping daily life in parts of Chicago as residents, schools and businesses weigh safety, civil liberties and access to services amid heightened immigration enforcement policy debates.