“Every Single Day I Pray”: Young People Protest ICE in Chicago
Thousands of protesters marched in Chicago against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in their city and President Trump’s deployment of troops in Los Angeles.
People in Chicago protesting against recent ICE raids and President Trump.
(Finnegan Ricco)On a concrete brick of Federal Plaza in Chicago, a protester wrote “Fuck ICE” in black ink. A few others quickly followed suit. Next to them, hundreds gathered in the street holding flags representing Mexico, the United States, Palestine, and many other South American nations.
It wasn’t just the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to a largely peaceful protest in Los Angeles that galvanized people to hit the streets on Tuesday June 10; it’s also the reality that, in Chicago, many young people know someone directly affected by recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. “My parents are still undocumented,” Laura, 21, from the South Side told The Nation. “Thank God we are in the process of getting them papers, but with everything going on, every single day I pray for them—that I am able to see them again.… it’s a constant fear. That’s why I showed up.”
Their anger, like many at the protest, rests on President Donald Trump, whose immigration raids affect large cities in the United States including Chicago, where ICE agents recently arrested 20 people during a surprise check-in at the federal agency’s Intensive Supervision Appearance Program offices, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Beside Laura stood her three friends, Jade, Ise, and Allan—all of Hispanic descent. “[ICE raids] are happening all the time,” Jade, 26, said. “My dad moved out of our apartment because he feared they were going to report him.” The Chicago community is strong, they echoed off one another. It is a city where people organize every chance they can get. “As much of a hateful person you are. In your heart, look for that piece of morality of your family being ripped apart,” said Laura when asked what message she could send to the president right now. “He has family—everyone has family.”
Immigrants in Illinois contributed $10.6 billion in state and local taxes and $16.9 billion in federal taxes, according to a March 2025 report from Vera Institute of Justice. A September 2023 report from Vera Institute of Justice found immigrant-led households in the Chicago metro area earned $68.7 billion and held an estimated $48.2 billion in spending power.
Bella Adekowa, a 25-year-old who works in Chicago, “had to come out” to support the protest. Everyday, she can point out undercover ICE cars targeting her friends and community. Still, she finds that Chicago’s solidarity among the immigrant community is consistent and could be the basis of real change if protests continue. Adekowa said Trump’s use of troops in LA makes her “sick to my stomach.” “The only way I feel I can get rid of that sickness is to speak up about it,” said Adekowa. “Students are the catalyst, they have been out the most.… It’s a tsunami, it’s all coming together, it’s crashing down.”
A 26-year-old Mexican woman, who chose to remain anonymous out of fear of deportation, described Trump’s immigration policies as “really sad and devastating.” With Mexico’s flag draped around her back, she voiced that this protest is a way to keep families together along with uniting Chicagoans. “My mom is married to an immigrant and currently [is] in the process of getting his papers,” she said. “There’s still a chance [ICE] could get him, it’s happening everyday.”
A car plowed through a crowd of protesters at around 6:20 pm , injuring a 66-year-old woman, and police later arrested 17 people after skirmishes between officers and protesters broke out after the 11 pm curfew. Until sundown, protesters danced in the streets holding signs with writing like “No one is illegal” and “Save our children.” The protests show no sign of slowing down in Chicago, as more actions are expected to take place in the coming week. “We have friends and family here that are undocumented,” said Ise, 22. “It’s affecting all of us right now.”
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