Thousands flood Chicago's 'No Kings' protest amid ICE raids
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No Kings in Grant Park. Photo: Carrie Shepherd/Axios
One hundred thousand people flooded Chicago's Grant Park on Saturday for the "No Kings" protest against President Trump — with many rallying against the Department of Homeland Security's aggressive immigration crackdown.
The big picture: Protesters waving "Abolish ICE" and "Hands Off Chicago" signs and chanting "Immigrants are welcome here" capped weeks of organizing by neighbors and activists pushing back against ICE and CBP raids across Chicago and its suburbs.
Catch up quick: Since Trump launched "Operation Midway Blitz" in Chicago last month, an ICE officer shot and killed a man in suburban Franklin Park. Federal agents also swept up U.S. citizens and zip-tied children during a raid on a South Shore apartment building, according to witnesses and local advocacy groups. National Guard troops were dispatched, but a judge's temporary restraining order halted their deployment.
- Meanwhile, large Latino areas such as Little Village have seen drastic declines in business as many residents are too afraid to leave the house to shop, or even go to work and school.
- Rapid response groups have trained community members in alerting neighborhoods to ICE's presence and families have stepped in to protect students whose immigrant parents are being swept up by officers.
What they're saying: "When we see ICE, we yell "ICE." It's good in a way that we see the way that community has come together to help each other out," Isis Espinoza of Ashburn told Axios at Saturday's march.
- "The livelihood of places like Little Village has gone down. It's depressing to see it, because, where is the Hispanic essence in the heart of the Hispanic essence of Chicago?"
Who else was there: Mayor Brandon Johnson joined other elected officials such as U.S. Reps. Jonathan Jackson, Delia Ramirez, Chuy Garcia, Mike Quigley and Jan Schakowsky and Sen. Dick Durbin on stage before the march, alongside several alders including Ald. Jesse Fuentes who was handcuffed by ICE as she asked officers to present a warrant for a man they were detaining at a Humboldt Park hospital.
- Gov. JB Pritzker and others kicked off the march holding a "Hands Off Chicago" sign.
By the numbers: Nearly 7 million people gathered in more than 2,700 cities and towns across the U.S., No Kings organizers said.