Immigration news in Chicago

"Broadview Six" defendants Katherine Abughazaleh, clockwise from upper left, Andre Martin, Michael Rabbitt, Joselyn Walsh, Brian Straw and Catherine Sharp. (baiduhai)

‘Broadview Six’ judge requests US attorney’s office communications, including Boutros email

By Jason Meisner

October 9, 2026 at 3:32 p.m.

The federal judge considering potential sanctions in the controversial "Broadview Six" made her first formal...

Goats graze along the Pecos river near it’s confluence with the Rio Grande river at the border with Mexico, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, near Comstock, Texas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

How Texas landowners are fighting back against Donald Trump’s border wall

By Rebecca Santana

October 9, 2026 at 8:05 a.m.

The message from the Trump administration has been clear: It is moving ahead with a...

Jorge Villegas holds a framed portrait of his brother Silverio Villegas González during a procession honoring his memory in Irimbo, Michoacán on Oct. 1, 2025. His sister Graciela Villegas, right, walks next to him. A procession honoring Silverio Villegas González and other immigrants in the United States took place in his hometown of Irimbo, Michoacán on Oct 1, 2025. (Fernando Espinal Moreno)

Family of Mexican father killed by ICE agent in Franklin Park files claim against federal government

By Laura Rodríguez Presa

October 8, 2026 at 4:20 p.m.

Just a year after Silverio Villegas González was fatally shot by an immigration enforcement agent...

Then-U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino carries tear gas, a rifle and his body camera while conducting immigration enforcement operations on Oct. 31, 2025, in Chicago’s Edison Park neighborhood. Judge Sara Ellis said she wanted to be very clear with the government going forward about what evidence it was obligated to hold onto, particularly involving employees no longer with the department, such as former Cmdr. Bovino. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Is Operation Midway Blitz still ongoing? DHS lawyer had judge doing double take on bodycams.

By Jason Meisner

September 11, 2026 at 7:56 p.m.

A lawyer for the Department of Homeland Security had people scratching their heads in a...

Liexer De La Cruz drives his tricycle with customers in Minas, Cuba’s Havana province, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A man fights for a new life in Cuba after the US expels him in an immigration crackdown

By Dánica Coto

September 11, 2026 at 11:48 a.m.

Liexer De La Cruz took a deep breath as he entered a federal courtroom in...

Carol Stream police say ICE agents appeared during traffic stop

By Caroline Kubzansky

September 11, 2026 at 3:47 p.m.

Carol Stream police were in the middle of a traffic stop Thursday morning when federal...

Court briefs: Daughter of couple taken by ICE pleads guilty to obstruction

By Meredith Colias-Pete

September 9, 2026 at 7:15 p.m.

Sarai Carrillo, 25, signed a plea deal filed Aug. 25 in the U.S. District Court...

FILE – President Donald Trump greets El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, left, at the Shield of the Americas Summit, March 7, 2026, at Trump National Doral Miami in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Temporary protections for about 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants are in limbo as deadline nears

By Gisela Salomon

September 9, 2026 at 10:51 a.m.

Temporary legal protections for about 200,000 immigrants from El Salvador was in limbo Wednesday as...

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, left, listens as Matthew D. Wilson, Senior Associate Director of University of Illinois’ Great Cities Institute, speaks during a press conference, Sept. 8, 2026, about a newly released report examining how heightened federal immigration enforcement changed commerce activity across Cook County. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)

Latin American-born residents ‘hunkering down’ before and during Midway Blitz cost economy $1.26B, report says

By A.D. Quig

September 8, 2026 at 5:02 p.m.

Latin American-born Cook County residents’ spending cratered as they stayed in their homes during Midway...

Karla Leon stands in front of a mural about immigrants obtaining access to higher education on the UIC Latino Cultural Center at the University of Illinois Chicago campus, Aug. 31, 2026. Leon is an undocumented senior at UIC majoring in accounting. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

‘Knowledge is free’: Students without permanent legal status navigate Illinois in-state tuition changes

By Kate Perez

September 8, 2026 at 11:41 a.m.

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights estimates that 7,000 to 10,000 students across...

A tamale vendor sets up a stand at the intersection of South Archer Avenue and South Pulaski Road in the Archer Heights neighborhood on Aug. 28, 2026. This is the intersection where Leodegario Martínez Barradas, a flower vendor, was the first person detained in Chicago during Operation Midway Blitz. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Operation Midway Blitz, one year later: A changed Chicago forges on after the resistance

By Andrew Carter

September 6, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

For 64 days, the federal government carried out a militarized immigration enforcement operation under the...

Nury Ortega hugs Bianca Soto, 9, before practicing with members of her Atl-Ehecatl dance group in the Little Village neighborhood on Aug. 31, 2026. Ortega’s partner, Oscar Burciaga, was detained by federal agents in December while working at a construction site. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

Nury Ortega’s partner was taken, then deported. Now she helps other families through dance and support.

By Laura Rodríguez Presa

September 6, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Nury Ortega’s partner, Oscar Burciaga, was arrested by federal immigration agents, along with four of...

Rafael Veraza holds his 1-year-old daughter, Arianna Sofia Veraza, next to his wife, Evelin Herrera, on Nov. 9, 2025, in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. The family was planning to shop at a Sam’s Club in Cicero when their vehicle was pepper-sprayed by federal agents. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

The Veraza family heard fireworks, flash bangs and blaring horns. Then a crying baby.

By Caroline Kubzansky

September 6, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The Verazas had been headed to pick up diapers and eggs and milk when they...