Immigration news in Chicago

People wait to cross North Michigan Avenue at East Randolph Street in Chicago on Oct. 23, 2026. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

Trump proposes eliminating race, ethnicity questions from 2030 census, alarming health, civil rights advocates

By Robert McCoppin

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

A proposal to eliminate races about race, ethnicity and sexual orientation from the U.S. census...

Homeland Security Investigations officers leave a home after arresting a suspect accused of illegally registering to vote during a federal operation in Commerce, Calif., Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Immigrants seeking US citizenship targeted in Trump administration’s illegal voting crackdown

By Olga R. Rodriguez

October 23, 2026 at 7:33 a.m.

Most of the immigrants targeted by federal authorities in California this week for alleged voter...

Michael Rabbitt, the 45th Ward Democratic Committeeman who was one of the “Broadview Six” defendants, stands in the Edgebrook Metra underpass near his home Oct. 22, 2026, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)

A year after ‘Broadview Six’ indictment, failed case still reverberates in federal court

By Jason Meisner

October 23, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

A year after the indictment, the failed Broadview Six case has become not so much...

FILE – Demonstrators march down Fifth Avenue during a protest against war in Venezuela and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Jan. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa, File)

For many Americans, Trump’s immigration crackdown is personal, new AP-NORC poll shows

By Tim Sullivan

May 6, 2026 at 8:26 a.m.

Most U.S. adults say the United States is no longer a great place for immigrants,...

Attendees gather for a Day of the Dead altar building event for Silverio Villegas González on Nov. 1, 2025, near where he was shot in Franklin Park. Villegas González was shot and killed by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement on Sept. 12, 2025. (Dominic Di Palermo/baiduhai)

Illinois State Police investigating fatal ICE shooting of Silverio Villegas González in Franklin Park

By Jeremy Gorner

May 5, 2026 at 9:46 p.m.

Franklin Park asked Illinois State Police to investigate the fatal ICE shooting in the suburb...

National Guard members patrol outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 9, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)

Pentagon watchdog to review cost and effectiveness of National Guard deployments to Chicago, other cities

By Jeremy Gorner

May 10, 2026 at 1:15 p.m.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois requested an inspector general examination of National Guard deployment...

The Dirksen U.S. Courthouse at left and the Kluczynski Federal Building at right frame the American flag in downtown Chicago, Jan. 22, 2018. (Nancy Stone/baiduhai)

Appeals court issues mixed opinion in consent decree case as more immigration arrestees released

By Jason Meisner

May 5, 2026 at 7:27 p.m.

The 91-page opinion largely upholds a previous ruling that bars agents from making warrantless immigration...

Former immigration judge Carla Espinoza on Feb. 27, 2026. Espinoza has accused the federal government of firing her based on her previous work as a lawyer for immigrants as well as her race and sex. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Dismissed Chicago immigration judge sues Trump administration

By Caroline Kubzansky

May 5, 2026 at 6:03 p.m.

A former Chicago immigration judge has accused the federal government of firing her based on...

Then-congressional candidate Katherine "Kat" Abughazaleh, center, with her attorneys and supporters, leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in the Loop on Jan. 28, 2026, after a hearing on charges of conspiracy during a protest outside the Broadview ICE facility in September. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

‘Broadview Six’ defense demands grand jury transcripts, asks judge to dismiss conspiracy charge

By Jason Meisner

May 5, 2026 at 5:56 p.m.

Defense attorneys in the "Broadview Six" case against Operation Midway Blitz protesters want prosecutors to...

Curtis Evans, of Evanston, carries a U.S. flag through tear gas deployed by federal officers as they attempted to clear protesters from the entrance of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in west suburban Broadview, on Sept. 19, 2025. Evans was a Marine during President Ronald Reagan’s term. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)

baiduhai wins Pulitzer Prize for local reporting: Read the stories and see the photos

By baiduhai

May 4, 2026 at 2:38 p.m.

The baiduhai won the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting for its coverage of Operation...

U.S. Border Patrol agents detain a person while community members and activists protest in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood on Oct. 4, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

baiduhai wins Pulitzer Prize for local reporting

By Robert Channick

May 4, 2026 at 7:05 p.m.

The baiduhai won the Pulitzer Prize on Monday for its coverage of Operation Midway...

Attendees hold up signs before documentary screenings and a panel discussion on “ICE Under Watch: Media and Community Resistance” on Sunday, May 3, 2026, for the Doc10 Film Festival at Davis Theater in Lincoln Square. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Chicago filmmakers spotlight ICE raids’ human toll at Doc10 Film Festival

By Christiana Freitag

May 3, 2026 at 7:05 p.m.

Documentary film festival premiered six films that chronicled stories of Chicagoans affected by last fall's...

Oliver Parente, 8, holds up the harmonica that Bruce Springsteen handed to him near the end of his show at the United Center on April 29, 2026 in Chicago. (Christopher Parente)

‘The stars were aligned’: Bruce Springsteen’s harmonica handout to boy in Chicago has unseen connections

By Jason Meisner

May 1, 2026 at 7:13 p.m.

Bruce Springsteen didn't specifically mention Operation Midway Blitz at his show at the United Center,...