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CHICAGO – State officials and immigrant advocates are not backing down on efforts to protect undocumented immigrants from President Donald Trump’s deportation surge that has led to “over 100” arrests in the Chicagoland area as of Tuesday.

During a Wednesday press conference, U.S. Reps. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and Delia Ramirez, both Democrats who represent parts of the Chicago area, vowed to continue “working across every level of government” to protect Illinois immigrants.

“You are not alone,” Garcia said. “We stand by you and we will fight for you.”

Officials condemned what they described as the Trump administration’s efforts to criminalize “entire” immigrant communities. Immigrants contribute to the economy and commit crimes at a lower rate than American-born citizens, Garcia said. In 2022, immigrant households paid $579.1 billion in taxes, or nearly 1 in every 6 tax dollars in the U.S., according to an analysis of U.S. Census data by the American Immigration Council.

The Trump administration’s efforts are instilling fear and paralyzing communities based on a false narrative, they said. Trump is creating a “political theater” with cameras and television personalities tagging along on immigration enforcement activities, Garcia said.

“This is about optics, not public safety,” said Garcia, whose district counts a population where a third of residents are foreign-born. “It’s a deliberate strategy to disincentivize the public. It is a calculated cruelty.”

The Trump administration on Sunday launched “Operation Safeguard,” during which agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI, ATF, DEA, CBP and U.S. Marshals Service descended on Chicago for “enhanced targeted operations.”

Television personality Dr. Phil McGraw joined Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar,” to broadcast ICE raids to millions of viewers while encouraged viewers to download an app to watch live coverage of the arrests. 

State officials on Wednesday vowed to ensure oversight of immigration enforcement operations and prevent detentions of undocumented immigrants who aren’t the initial target of ICE operations. The state representatives said they will closely monitor spending, contracts and operations as ICE aims to ramp up immigration detentions and arrests.

“I will be closely monitoring everything that is happening [with ICE],” said Ramirez, who is a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

An exact number of Chicago-area immigrants detained in targeted immigration efforts since the start of Operation Safeguard has not been provided, Garcia and Ramirez said.

It remains unclear whether ICE made “collateral arrests” in Chicago, detaining undocumented immigrants who aren’t the initial target of the targeted enforcement.

State officials warned that more undocumented immigrants without criminal convictions could be detained as authorities ramp up enforcement to meet detention quotas.

In suburban Elgin, an undocumented father was swept up in a fugitive investigation involving his stepson, the Tribune reported.

His wife told the Tribune the agents told her, “We have to take someone.”

“What we’re trying to do is get that final number because we know that while they said they have warrants for hundreds of people, it seems like that number was a very, very limited number,” Ramirez said.

On Saturday, the White House directed ICE to increase the number of people they arrest, from a few hundred per day to at least between 1,200 to 1,500, according to the Washington Post.

“It is impossible to reach the aspired numbers that have been established by these operatives, especially in Chicago today, because they don’t exist,” Garcia said.

Federal authorities, however, have limited capacity to detain millions of immigrants, as the Trump administration has promised to do, officials warned. ICE currently has the budget to detain only about 41,000 people, the AP reported.

At the same time, officials praised the efforts of immigrant advocates in Chicago, which “in the face of fear, are choosing hope and choosing action.”

“They have been supporting, informing and defending each other’s rights,” Ramirez said. “In the city of Chicago, we are proud that we love our rights and we understand the Constitution.”

On Monday night, Homan said in a CNN interview that outreach efforts by immigration advocates in Chicago and elsewhere — such as “Know Your Rights” workshops and pamphlets — are “making it very difficult” to arrest people.

Just before Sunday’s operations, four major Chicago-based immigrant rights groups filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration, saying the planned raids violate human rights and are in retaliation against Chicago’s sanctuary city status.

Plaintiffs include Organized Communities Against Deportation, Brighton Park Community Council, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and Raise the Floor Alliance. 

In a response filed Wednesday, attorneys for the Justice Department asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit, calling it a “dangerous” political attack with no merit that could “undermine the ability of this country to govern itself.” U.S. District Judge John Kness has scheduled a motion hearing for Friday in Chicago.

Efforts to educate immigrants about their rights, provide legal representation to those detained by immigration authorities and advocate for immigrants and undocumented immigrants will meanwhile continue, officials said.

“We know that there is real fear in the community right now, so we want to clearly state that every person, regardless of immigration status, has certain rights under the Constitution,” said Danae Kovac, executive director of HANA Center, a Chicago nonprofit serving Korean, Asian American and multiethnic immigrants.

Such rights include the right to remain silent when questioned or detained by law enforcement, the right not to open the door to immigration authorities who lack a warrant and the right to be represented by an attorney.

Nonprofit leaders have also since presented a smartphone app called “Know Your Rights 4 Immigrants,” available in several languages. The National Korean American Service and Education Consortium, or NAKACE, which is represented by HANA Center in Chicago, developed the app. It is available for iOS users and Android users.

“[The app] has the ability to read your rights out loud to an ICE or law enforcement agent and send a message to your emergency contact,” said Kovac, who added that it was downloaded 5,300 times in the past week.

Users can find Know Your Rights information and resources for immigrants and families in 17 languages, including family preparedness plans, a legal resources directory and resources to help people contact their consulate.

Charles Thrush and Mack Liederman contributed.

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