The atmosphere was tame at the Broadview ICE facility on Oct. 10 that saw more press than protesters.
That calm was shattered later in the day by two bombshell restraining orders by federal judges and a quick U.S. Court of Appeals response.
U.S. District Court Judge April Perry’s Oct. 9 order stalled National Guard deployment for two weeks, pending review. District Court Judge Sara Ellis’s order the same day prohibited use of less-than-lethal weapons, use of force against protesters, clergy and journalists and requires visible identification on federal agents.
An Oct. 10, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decision allowed Perry’s National Guard decision to stay in place but allowed federalization of the National Guard by President Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, the continued up-and-down twists to the escalating battle between Trump, Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson further challenged Southwest Side aldermen to consider possible remedies to current federal immigration policy.
Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd) said the city and state’s strategy of engaging in head on fighting is ineffective.
“You have socialist aldermen who prefer to protect the most violent undocumented immigrants and instead put all of them [undocumented immigrants] on ICE’s radar,” she said.
The city and state’s extreme platform on undocumented immigrants results in limited negotiation capability in response to federal government activities, Tabares said.
The alderman believes a common sense approach to the issue involves directing federal resources toward Chicago’s violent undocumented criminals and that the mayor, governor and other politicians’ rhetoric inflames citizens toward reckless behavior.
A January 2025 Southwest News-Herald story reported on proposed amendments by Alderman Raymond Lopez (15th), Tabares and other aldermen to Chicago’s Welcoming City ordinance that would have allowed Chicago police to cooperate with ICE by handing undocumented persons with proven criminal convictions or arrests to ICE for deportation.
The proposed amendment failed in the City Council, 39-11.
“It’s disheartening to see what it’s come to,” she said. “Both sides have used immigration as a political issue. One is going to help the undocumented and the other is saying they’re going to hold them accountable. We have to tone down the rhetoric and look at possible solutions.”
During an Oct. 10 press conference at the Broadview ICE facility, Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth addressed attempts at solutions to end Trump’s military occupation of Chicago and its suburbs.
Durbin said he would work with any administration to stop crime. Trump, who agreed to negotiate, has yet to do so, he said.
Because of this, neither Durbin or Duckworth believe the president is sincere, they said.
“When we look at his [Trump’s] budget, he ends up cutting the very programs our police have asked for and what they need. They have a tough time recruiting new officers; they’re offering $50,000 incentives to sign up for ICE,” Durbin said. “Let’s put the federal resources in with the state and local resources and do it together in a cooperative fashion; not force it down our throats by sending in troops from Texas.”
Alderman Lopez didn’t wait for a meeting, choosing action instead.
Lopez’s Oct. 8 letter, sent to Trump, seeks to focus the administration on fixing the country’s broken immigration system.
“I think what all of America wants to see, especially here in the City of Chicago, is some movement, progress and solutions being put forward,” Lopez said.
Caught between Trump, Pritzker and Johnson are 11 million long-term undocumented residents in the U.S. including approximately 15 million asylum seekers admitted under the Biden administration, he said.
“The Democratic party has been saying, for a decade, we should be focusing on an immigration pathway and all of a sudden that has been kicked to the curb,” Lopez said. “My letter to Donald Trump is to give him a pathway to rise above all the politics, to take a democratic talking point and make it his own.”
Lopez’s proposal asks the president to grant long-term undocumented persons with no criminal record for the past 10 years or more, pardons and amnesty, including a $2,500 citizenship fee for eligible persons, exempting DACA-eligible applicants.
He also asks Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to work with Trump to focus on the additional 15 million persons existing in the Biden citizenship pipeline by considering merit cases first to determine citizenship application validity and if not, proceeding to deportation, he said.
Lopez believes focusing on immigration reform pathways is a more efficient way to process potential immigration candidates rather than random ICE operations in neighborhoods targeting non-criminal undocumented persons.
“He wanted to go after the worst-of-the-worst, secure the border and wanted to give [DACA] dreamers a path forward,” Lopez said. “He’s secured the border and is kind of going sideways on the worst-of-the-worst by getting lost in the argumentation between him, Pritzker and Johnson; we’ve completely forgotten about dreamers and pathways to citizenship.”
Ald. Marty Quinn (13th) said what he’s experienced in his ward recently is not what the community needs from the president.
Instead, U.S. citizens in the 13th Ward have been targeted by ICE, according to the alderman.
“Now, those U.S. citizens who pay taxes are losing confidence in our country and that’s terrible,” Quinn said.
Quinn’s strategic solution to address fear of ICE has not changed and involves speaking with 13th Ward residents by going door-to-door, which he continues to do, he said.
“This year alone, I’ve had over 1,200 conversations in peoples’ living rooms to continue to work on those relationships,” Quinn continued. “Those relationships are very helpful in instances like this.”
Numerous 13th Ward residents are mixed-status households and a federal presence creating fear in the community is a concern for the alderman.
Quinn said the president’s support is needed with a new police district in the 13th Ward, issuing a declaration for FEMA assistance to fix unresolved flooding issues after July and August storm damage, ATF assistance in removing guns from city streets and, above all, ending the government shutdown, a subject he believes should take precedence.
He is also concerned about Chicago police officers being involved in a pepper-spray and tear gas incident and “a constituent of mine who is a U.S. citizen being targeted,” none of which is helpful, the alderman added.
“We can’t be in a position today where we allow our community to be divided,” Quinn said. “This is an evolving situation and we’ll continue to work through it.”
“The actions of the federal government are creating chaos and fear in our communities and it is unacceptable and it has nothing to do with improving public safety,” said state Sen. Mike Porfirio (D-11th). “I along with other elected officials have been advocating for increased public safety investment in the southwest side to keep our communities safe (like a new police district and converting the vacant National Guard armory into a police district) but the actions of the Trump administration threaten those efforts by eroding trust between the community and professional, effective, and local law enforcement who know their communities, are held to a high standard and have the training to keep our communities safe. The funding and resources wasted on the current ICE activity that is going after long-time residents who have lived and worked in our communities safely for years could have been used towards real, long term and sustainable solutions like more local law enforcement, violence prevention programs, public education and workforce development and job training programs that we know are the real formula to keep communities safe and thriving.
“I have heard and met with multiple constituents and community stakeholders throughout the 11th District about the fear, pain and trauma that the current environment and the ICE activity is creating. That pain and fear is real. I will continue to work with my colleagues in the General Assembly to explore and identify public policies on a state level that we can implement to protect the rights and safety of our communities and prevent unconstitutional abuse.”