On the same day as pathetic weasel Donald Trump announced travel bans from 12 countries, several of which are long-time victims of US imperialism, his ICE brown shirts descended on Chicago. At least 10 people were summoned for routine check-ins, only to be separated from lawyers, arrested by masked ICE agents, and denied any kind of legal due process. This escalation comes on the heels of two people being arrested after ICE thugs entered a Pilsen restaurant and apartment without a warrant, while a CPD car observed nearby. The Pilsen warrantless raid would not have even made the news if not for activists who were able to respond and record the state-sanctioned kidnapping. 

Protesters, including a number of Chicago Aldermen, quickly gathered yesterday at the South Loop location where migrants were being snatched up during routine check-ins, only to be met by open thuggery by the masked ICE stormtroopers. ICE goons quickly plowed through the crowd, even knocking over elected officials with batons, all in service of kidnapping longtime Chicago residents and ripping families apart. In an act of gross hypocrisy, CPD was on scene, doing nothing to either protect the elected officials or defend Chicago residents from extrajudicial kidnappings, but supposedly to “ensure the safety of all involved, including those exercising their First Amendment rights,” according to CPD spokesperson Tom Ahern. This statement read particularly hollow to anyone who has had to deal with Tom Ahern, who is a notable liar and opponent of the first amendment (don’t ask him what he was doing on August 20th). 

The politicians and NGO’s that responded to the arrests made their round of denunciations, joined by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who was notably absent while his own residents were being kidnapped. While we extend our respect to everyone who records and exposes these kidnappings and ICE activities, and especially those willing to put their bodies in the way of these brown shirts, we have an obligation to raise the question: what will it take to stopthis mass deportation machine? There is an urgent need to expose both the cruelty of this arbitrary bipartisan deportation machine that is currently being ramped up, and to expose the reason why people are forced to come to the US in the first place: US imperialism. 

With the evidence piling up that CPD is fully aware of these warrantless, extrajudicial ICE kidnappings happening in Chicago, people need to find out what Brandon Johnson and Larry Snelling knew about these operations and when they knew them. At best, CPD became aware of these operations and did nothing to obstruct them, becoming complicit by default. At worst, CPD knew in advance and did nothing to protect the people of Chicago (including elected officials), instead choosing to do what they do best: harass regular people and repress righteous protests. So long as masked goons can kidnap Chicago residents in broad daylight, Brandon Johnson can keep the word “sanctuary city” out of his mouth. 

On May 30th, masses of people in San Diego were able to give the ICE modern-day brownshirts the kind of welcome that they deserve. Instead of worrying about how their actions would look on camera, people openly confronted the ICE thugs, temporarily driving them back and impeding them for a short time. The San Diego protests demonstrate the power of mass refusal of the deportation machine precisely because people weren’t afraid to go beyond business-as-usual or the kinds of protests that are acceptable to rulers. With ICE brown shirts increasingly targeting Chicago, it’s time to get serious about that kind of resistance. 

Smash the mass deportation machine! Chinga la migra!