Immigration news in Chicago

FILE – Migrants congregate on the banks of the Rio Grande at the U.S. border with Mexico on Dec. 20, 2022, where members of the Texas National Guard cordoned off a gap in the U.S. border wall. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee, File)

How Trump’s immigration crackdown sparked a backlash that could boomerang in the midterms

By Nicholas Riccardi

October 29, 2026 at 6:20 a.m.

President Donald Trump’s effort to fulfill his promises on immigration has turned into a backlash,...

Pope Leo XIV greets members of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership on Oct. 28, 2026, at the Vatican. (Vatican Media)

Chicago clergy meet with Pope Leo XIV to advocate for immigrants detained in Broadview ICE facility

By Rebecca Johnson

October 29, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

About 30 Chicago-area clergy, religious leaders and laypeople met with Pope Leo Wednesday to advocate...

FILE – The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website, used to locate someone in immigration detention, is displayed on Sept. 21, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Rachel Leathe, File)

Lawsuit seeks to block ICE from hiding locations of detainees with final removal orders

By Ryan J. Foley

October 28, 2026 at 12:07 p.m.

Groups that provide legal services to immigrants filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to stop the...

Alderperson Michael Rodriguez, 22nd, speaks at a Grant Park vigil commemorating people allegedly killed by federal immigration agents on July 25, 2026. (Arthur Maiorella/baiduhai)

Hundreds march to Trump Tower for vigil for two men killed by ICE agents

By Lila Hempel-Edgers

July 25, 2026 at 5:08 p.m.

Protesters gathered in Grant Park to mourn Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican father killed by...

FILE – A U.S. Army soldier walks past a Bradley fighting vehicle staged in West Potomac Park ahead of an upcoming military parade commemorating the Army’s 250th anniversary and coinciding with Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, June 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

White House wants veterans to replace immigrant truckers who lost licenses in crackdown

By Josh Funk

July 24, 2026 at 2:52 p.m.

The Trump administration wants soldiers to consider becoming truck drivers to help replace the tens...

Women and children head into the building that houses immigration court at 55 E. Monroe St. in Chicago on July 23, 2026. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)

‘Deportation factory’: Chicago’s immigration court epicenter for US spike in removal orders, analysis shows

By Caroline Kubzansky

July 24, 2026 at 3:32 p.m.

A Tribune analysis of Department of Justice data has found that, rather than repeating Operation...

A Southwest Airlines plane taxis away from its gate at Dallas Love Field on July 21, 2025, in Dallas. (Elias Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News/TNS)

Southwest Airlines flight attendant detained by ICE at work, union says

By Dallas Morning News

July 24, 2026 at 8:38 a.m.

A Southwest Airlines flight attendant was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement while working,...

Independent journalist Georgia Fort speaks at "America @ 250: A journalism reckoning," in Chicago on July 16, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/baiduhai)

Journalists ‘reckon’ with needs, changes necessary for the Fourth Estate to survive

By Darcel Rockett

July 24, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

At "America @250: A journalism reckoning," journalists, funders and civic leaders reflected on the past,...

FILE – People work at the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

Illinois joins states suing Trump administration after it put conditions on receiving disaster funding

By Michael Casey

July 23, 2026 at 1:48 p.m.

More than two dozen states, including Illinois, on Thursday sued the Trump administration for requiring...

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent detains an individual after exiting his immigration court hearing at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on July 16, 2026 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty)

ICE accelerates immigration arrests across US to 1,400 a day

By Alicia A. Caldwell

July 22, 2026 at 3:20 p.m.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is ramping up immigration arrests.

Migrants board a Metra train to Chicago after traveling by bus from El Paso, Texas on April 3, 2024, in Wilmette. Migrants on the bus said the ride took almost 30 hours. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

Chicago watchdog finds no big issues with $630 million City Hall spent on migrant crisis

By Alice Yin

July 22, 2026 at 3:46 p.m.

An audit of Chicago’s migrant response found no major issues with how City Hall spent...

Artist and activist Liliana Medina distributes original artwork protest signs in the 3100 block of West 26th Street as demonstrators and area residents gather to pray for people killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the past year, on July 15, 2026. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

Aldermen sign ‘ICE Out’ pledge demanding officials reject money tied to immigration enforcement

By Alice Yin

July 21, 2026 at 4:34 p.m.

A dozen progressive aldermen have signed on to a demand for their colleagues to reject...

Josue Pire Hidalgo, in an undated photo, is a father of two and a custodian for the Chicago Public Schools. Pire Hidalgo was detained during an immigration check-in on July 17, 2026. (Hidalgo family)

ICE detains Chicago Public Schools custodian at immigration appointment: ‘Everyone’s just devastated’

By Kate Perez

July 22, 2026 at 6:11 a.m.

ICE detained Josue Isai Pire-Hidalgo, 31, on July 17 at an immigration appointment.