Skip to content

Chicago

Following Mass Protests, Trump Deploys National Guard To Chicago

After months of threats from the Trump administration, on October 8, hundreds of National Guard troops arrived in Chicago from Texas and Illinois. The US Northern Command announced on October 8 that around 200 soldiers from the Texas National Guard and around 300 from the Illinois National Guard had arrived in the greater Chicago area. Troops are set to “protect” ICE and other federal agents, as well as federal property, according to the Northern Command. The deployment of troops comes after waves of mass protest against US President Donald Trump’s ramped up immigration enforcement operation – labeled as “Operation Midway Blitz.”

The 13th Largest Army In World Is Unleashing Violence In Chicago

If the immigration enforcement apparatus of the United States were its own national military, it would be the 13th most heavily funded in the world. This puts it higher than the national militaries of Poland, Italy, Australia, Canada, Turkey and Spain — and just below Israel. That bloated force is due to a massive funding increase in President Donald Trump’s budget bill that went into effect October 1, and it comes as Chicagoland faces an escalation of violence from ICE and other federal agencies. Agents are tear gassing and beating protesters, raiding and ransacking communities across the area, and detaining people at homeless shelters and hospitals. They are roaming the city and surrounding suburbs in masks, sometimes in plain clothes and unmarked cars, and other times — especially near protests — in armored vehicles, wearing the militarized, camouflage uniforms that are the hallmark of soldiers.

Chicagoland Under Attack, Residents Fight Back With Rapid Response Teams

On September 8, the Trump Administration launched 'Operation Midway Blitz to increase the number ICE raids on immigrant communities in Chicagoland. As director of the Casa DuPage Workers Center, Cristobal Cavazos, explains to Clearing the FOG, this initially led to widespread feelings of fear by residents, but organizers turned that into power by creating rapid response teams throughout the region to alert people when ICE comes to their neighborhoods and confront the ICE agents. The teams also do outreach and hand out Know Your Rights information to community members. A growing coalition of immigrants' rights, faith, and other groups is holding protests daily, including at the Broadview detention center, despite the officers attacking demonstrators with tear gas and rubber bullets. Cavazos describes how activists throughout the country are sharing information and resources and why it is critical to be in the streets right now.

Hundreds Brave Tear Gas, Pepper Balls To Protest ICE

After the tear gas dispersed just enough to breathe, and street medics had flushed several people’s eyes with water, the hundreds protesting in Broadview on Friday morning — like they have regularly for weeks — did not go home and came back together in the street that runs perpendicular to the ICE detention center. They held signs high above their heads reading ​“Migration Is Sacred” and ​“Protect Our Neighbors.” Some had red, puffy eyes. Others were coughing. But the crowd was determined, even defiant, and dozens started chanting and repeating: ​“I believe that we will win! I believe that we will win!” It was a remarkable sentiment for the group who gathered early in the morning September 26 to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the agents who have detained hundreds of people in Chicagoland since the September 8 rollout of ​“Operation Midway Blitz.”

Trepidation, Defiance And Dejà Vu Mark Mexican Independence Day In Chicago

Mexican immigrants have deep roots in Chicago, dating back well over a century. And since at least 1924, they have commemorated Mexican Independence Day through fiestas, altars to Mexico’s heroes of independence from Spain, speeches from the Mexican consul and attendance of other Latin American dignitaries and officials. Mayor Richard J. Daley regularly attended official festivities in the 1960s, and Catholic Cardinal Alfred Meyer even celebrated mass in honor of the day in 1961. Over the years, the celebrations of Mexico’s ​“Fourth of July” have ranged from modest neighborhood dances to more formal, lavish galas at upscale hotels.

ICE Abducts Man Suing Off-Duty Police For Abusing Day Laborers

Even though President Donald Trump says he is pivoting from plans to deploy the National Guard in Chicago — now eyeing Memphis as his next target — Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers appear to still be escalating operations throughout the area, with devastating consequences. Willian Gimenez, a day laborer, was reportedly abducted outside of a barbershop in Little Village, a neighborhood in southwest Chicago, by ICE agents on Friday. The Latino Union of Chicago and Raise the Floor Alliance organized a news conference with immigration rights advocates, public officials and labor groups there in solidarity like Arise Chicago, the Chicago Workers Collaborative and Workers Center for Racial Justice, who all gathered with Gimenez’s friends and family outside of an ICE facility in Broadview to demand his release.

Chicago Hospital’s Closure: A Canary In The Coal Mine For Corporatized Health

Predictably, Weiss Memorial Hospital, which has served the diverse and vulnerable populations of the northside Chicago neighborhood of Uptown for decades, closed its doors on August 8, 2025. Weiss Memorial Hospital was the first (and only) community safety-net hospital (a hospital whose stated mission is to serve low-income communities) in this neighborhood. The hospital closed despite impassioned pleas by several residents such as Phong Nguyen, a Vietnamese refugee and war veteran who has lived in Uptown and used Weiss Memorial for 50 years. As he told WBEZ, “I am over 80 years old this year. Not just my generation, but generations following myself still rely on this hospital for critical services; [Weiss is] a hospital that allows us to stay in the area and maintain the quality of life that we deserve.”

8000 Chicagoans Make It Clear: ‘No Trump, No Troops!’

Chicago, IL – On September 6, 8000 Chicagoans rallied and marched downtown to demand that no federal troops be deployed in the city. The demonstration, led by the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda (CATA) in partnership with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), showed broad opposition to the incoming illegal military occupation and made clear that Chicagoans are not afraid to exercise their democratic right to resist. “The Trump administration has been escalating their illegal attacks on the city,” said Veronica Castro, ICIRR’s deputy director. Castro described recent incidents of ICE activity, emboldened by the incoming federal forces, including masked agents targeting the domestic violence courthouse for arrests.

As Trump Declares War On The City, Chicago’s Best Hope Now Is Workers

President Trump has said a lot of hateful and stupid things in his life, and he’s posted a lot of offensive and often half-intelligible statements and images on the White House’s official social media account. But Saturday’s unhinged AI-generated image of him as the infamous Colonel Kilgore (does no one in the White House communications department understand satire?) from Apocalypse Now really takes the cake. The image shows Trump in the character’s iconic cavalry hat, in front of a burning Chicago skyline with the text: “‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning …’ Chicago is about to find out why it’s called the Department of War.” Needless to say, implying that the United States Department of Defense will unleash napalm on a major U.S. city is not normal behavior for the commander in chief, but here we are.

‘We’re Going In’: Trump Moves To Deploy Troops To Chicago

After weeks of threats, US President Donald Trump officially announced that he is sending federal forces to the US city of Chicago. On September 2, Trump declared his intent to send federal troops, including National Guard personnel, to Chicago to address rising crime, stating: “We’re going in. I didn’t say when, but we’re going in.” On Tuesday, Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social that Chicago is “the worst and most dangerous city in the World, by far.” Chicago is not the most dangerous city in the world or even the nation in terms of violent crime and homicide. Chicago’s overall violent crime rate remains higher than the national average, but it’s seeing a steady decline.

How Mass-Based Community Unions Could Transform The Country

We are in a mess right now. Labor and community organizations are under attack. A cascading list of Executive Orders, cancellations of government funding, attacks on non-profit status, and arrests of union leaders and immigrant organizers may be just the beginning. The Supreme Court’s recent court decisions giving Trump legal carte blanche to do whatever he wants may also include the complete destruction of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and other progressive reforms of the past 90 years. Some foundations and other progressive funders are decreasing funding when they should be increasing their support. These attacks are destroying our ability to organize when we need it most.

‘Toxic’ Laundry, Melting Aprons: Mauser Strike Hits Two Months

Many employees at Chicago’s Mauser Packaging Solutions dread laundry day, and not for the usual reasons. The workers, who recondition steel drums used in the transport of materials like acetone, ammonia, and paint, say they have inconsistent access to uniforms and protective equipment. “The fear of a lot of the workers is that they don’t have a uniform and have to wash their clothes, and that they have to mix it with their children’s or wife’s clothes, and they don’t know what the impact will be,” said Arturo Landa, a shop steward at Mauser and member of the bargaining committee. Their contract expired April 30. Since June 9, 160 Mauser employees, members of Teamsters Local 705, have been on an unfair labor practice strike after Mauser illegally surveilled union members who were speaking with their business agent during a break, the union said.

CTU Hosts ‘Billionaire Bake Sale’ At School Board Meeting

Chicago, IL – A crowd of Chicago Teachers Union members attended the school board meeting, July 24, carrying giant cardboard cupcakes with price tags representing the net worth of Illinois billionaires. Their demands are for Governor JB Pritzker to call a special legislative session and secure more funding for public education and other services, and for higher taxes on the rich to counteract the effects of Trump's “Big, Beautiful Bill.” “The top 5% of top earners in Illinois got $7.7 billion in tax cuts from the Big Horrible Bill,” Jackson Potter, the CTU vice president, explaining that these tax cuts are happening while public education, healthcare and transportation each face hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts.

Portland And Chicago Activists Demand Shut Down Of ICE Facilities

Portland, OR – On July 16, around 50 protesters gathered at the Portland city council meeting space for a press conference and rally to demand Portland city council revoke the permit for the ICE Field Office at 4310 S Macadam Avenue in Portland. The press conference was organized by Revoke the ICE Permit, a coalition of groups organizing to get ICE out of Portland. In 2011, the Portland city council approved a conditional use permit for the field office, allowing it to operate. One of the conditions for the conditional use permit was a 12-hour limit on the holding of detainees. A recent Fox 12 Oregon investigation found the office has violated this condition many times.

Chicagoans Pack City Hall To Oppose Jim Crow Curfew Ordinance

Chicago, IL – On Wednesday morning, July 16, hundreds of people packed the Chicago city hall lobby ahead of the city council meeting. Many youth and community organizations stood united in opposition to the racist snap curfew ordinance that was put forward by Alderman Brian Hopkins two months before. This snap curfew would give the Chicago Police Department unchecked power in the instance of a mass gathering to institute a curfew with only 30 minutes notice and engage in mass arrests. The curfew received a favorable vote in the June city council meeting, but Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed the ordinance.
assetto corsa mods

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! 

Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Sign Up To Our Daily Digest

Independent media outlets are being suppressed and dropped by corporations like Google, Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our daily email digest before it’s too late so you don’t miss the latest movement news.