“People are exercising their rights," Rep. Jesús “Chuy" García said
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says US being run as if Confederacy won the Civil War
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says anyone who wonders what the country would look like had the Confederacy won the Civil War can look at how it is being run currently.
Chicago political leaders are encouraging local residents' efforts to defy the federal government as it attempts to carry out mass deportations in the city, vowing to "hold the line and push back every single time."
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) has faced pushback from local groups aiding illegal immigrants as its agents are sweeping the city as part of a nation-wide illegal immigration crackdown, the Chicago Tribune reported. Windy City non-profits have launched Facebook groups, apps and have put up flyers across the city with instructions on how to avoid being detained by ICE. Left-wing political leaders are cheering the acts of resistance, as ICE is estimated to have detained some 100 migrants so far.
"The actions coming from the White House are rooted in xenophobic, nativist and racist lies. We must hold the line and push back every single time — as we’ve done before," Rep. Jesús "Chuy" García said at an event at Malcolm X College on Wednesday. "People are exercising their rights."
TRUMP'S BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN UNVEILS 'GAME-CHANGING' MIGRANT NUMBERS UNDER NEW ADMIN
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) knocks on the door of an alleged suspect during an ICE Raid in Chicago, Illinois. (Photographer: Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan has blasted Chicago and other sanctuary cities, claiming that they are obstructing the administration’s efforts to deport criminal illegal migrants from the country.
"Sanctuary cities are making it very difficult to arrest criminals. For instance, Chicago, very well-educated, they’ve been educated (on) how to defy ICE, how to hide from ICE. And I’ve seen many pamphlets from many of the (nongovernmental organizations). … They call it ‘Know Your Rights.’ I call it how to escape arrest. There’s a warrant for your arrest — they tell you how to hide from ICE," Homan said in a CNN interview.
Illinois State Rep. Delia Ramirez, however, considers those resisting Trump’s mass deportation program to be "courageous."
"We have shown them that we are courageous. We have shown them that we are organized. And we have shown them that they will not break us," she said.
CHICAGO HORROR: 2 MIGRANTS CHARGED WITH MURDER AS HOMAN LEADS ICE RAIDS
Tom Homan, White House border czar, speaks to members of the media outside the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Illinois is home to 300,000 of the 11 million total illegal immigrants in the U.S. as of 2022, according to Pew Research Data. ICE claims it has made 710 immigration arrests per day from January 23 through January 27.
Two illegal migrants were charged in the murder of a 63-year-old man whose body was found tied up at his Chicago home on Sunday, the same day that Homan led an immigration enforcement operation in the city.
David Spector is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to
