Editor’s Note: The Independent added additional resources for the NEIU Community.
After early reports of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targeting undocumented immigrants since the presidential inauguration, Sunday, January 26 marked the first high-profile “enhanced targeted operations” within Chicago.
ICE, along with U.S. border czar Tom Homan, started making arrests early Sunday morning across the Chicago area, with a planned number of 260 arrests, as confirmed by an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw on his platform MeritTV.
Dr. Phil McGraw, who is notable for his talk show Dr. Phil, live streamed within ICE headquarters in Chicago on the MeritTV app early Sunday afternoon. McGraw talked with ICE officials, including Homan, about their plans for arrests. Homan mentioned that within those 260, there were several that did not open their doors to agents.
Members of the Independent staff went out to investigate in Logan Square, based on early reports citing the neighborhood as a location where ICE agents were present. Logan Square is a neighborhood near El Centro, one of NEIU’s satellite campuses with a majority Hispanic population. Independent staff investigated the neighborhood and found three unmarked Chicago Police vehicles patrolling around churches and residential areas close to elementary schools. However, the Independent did not identify any federal agents.
A Chicago-based social media influencer, Jaxxchismetalk, created a community sourced map of ICE sightings, People over Papers. The site is refreshed and archived every day with new information as to where ICE has been located, as reviewed by moderators. The closest sighting to NEIU was in the 4800 block of Drake in Albany Park.
Within the state of Illinois, there are an estimated 425,000 undocumented immigrants, 65% of whom are from Mexico.
The final number of arrests in Chicago out of the 956 reported arrests nation-wide is currently unknown.
For those that are currently undocumented, there is a list of resources on the NEIU website at neiu.edu/undocumented. Within it, there are upcoming events and resources for students, faculty and staff.
The following link is to a folder administered by the Independent with publicly available resources for undocumented persons and their allies. Suggestions for additions to this folder can be sent to the Independent’s Editor-in-Chief at independent-eic@neiu.edu.