TRP Statement on June 4th ICE Action in Chicago
June 4, 2025, Chicago – Today, we witnessed a cruel and calculated attack on our communities. ICE forcibly separated at least 20 people from their families and loved ones in what can only be described as a deliberate spectacle of cruelty.
Federal agents force people back as they detain several people at the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office, 2245 S. Michigan Ave., in South Loop on June 4, 2025. Credit: Sebastián Hidalgo for Block Club Chicago. Read the article
Approximately twenty people were detained by ICE at their scheduled immigration check-in. When local alders intervened with a non-violent protest, roughly fifty federal agents forced their way through, assaulting elected officeholders and members of the public in the process.
The people detained today had followed every rule and request, even showing up voluntarily to today’s check-in where they were then detained. They weren’t allowed access to counsel as they were detained, another example due process being denied to immigrants.
The presence of an embedded photographer with ICE shows how this administration is turning our pain into political theater. Today wasn’t about public safety or law enforcement. It was about creating fear and confusion in our communities. They’re making a show out of tearing mothers and fathers from their children, leaving American citizens as young as ten effectively orphaned by their own government.
The TRP deportation defense team was on the ground alongside our counterparts from a number of other local organizations and scores of neighbors. We’re proud of our community and how so many people responded with courage on short notice.
We are deeply concerned to see that Chicago police provided on-site support to ICE, making this mass deportation possible by blocking traffic and providing initial crowd control. Officials claim this was about public safety, but the only people they protected were federal agents tearing our community members away from the people who love and depend on them. This kind of collaboration is an apparent violation of the Illinois Trust Act that degrades public trust in law enforcement.
What we need now is immediate action. HB2436, the bill just passed by the Cook County Public Defender, would provide another avenue for these detained community members to secure legal representation no matter where ICE holds them. We urge Governor Pritzker to support our immigrant communities by signing this bill into law immediately to remove a barrier to representation for immigrant Illinoisans.
In the meantime, our legal team at The Resurrection Project stands ready to help. If your loved ones have been detained by ICE, we urge you to complete our Detained Loved One form to obtain emergency legal counsel:
Today's action was designed to break our spirit, but it won’t succeed. We’ll keep standing with our communities, defending our families, and fighting for the dignity and rights of all people. Our strength comes from our solidarity and that’s something that they can’t take from us.
