Activists say immigration enforcement increased as Chicago waits for promised federal intervention

CHICAGO (AP) — Activists in Chicago’s well-connected immigrant rights network say there’s been a noticeable uptick in immigration enforcement agents in recent days, deepening the dread in communities already fearful of the large-scale arrests or aggressive tactics used in other cities targeted by President Donald Trump.

Those tactics haven’t been seen yet in or around the nation’s third-largest city. but activists report a spike in arrests in immigrant-heavy city neighborhoods and suburbs of Chicago. Immigration officers are focused on isolated traffic stops and there’s been an increased presence of them at local courthouses.

“We definitely feel escalated operations are already here,” said Lawrence Benito, head of the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

The Trump administration has said it would send an influx of immigration agents and National Guard troops to Chicago, over the fierce of objections of local leaders and residents. But Trump has seesawed on sending a military deployment to Chicago. Last week he said he would send the National Guard to more cooperative places, but then on Monday he again floated Chicago as the next possibility.

Adding to the confusion, was a new Department of Homeland Security campaign announced last week that would target sanctuary policies around Chicago. DHS officials have not said if what it has termed “Operation Midway Blitz” is part of the federal intervention promised by Trump.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who has objected to any federal intervention, told reporters Monday that it was clear that immigration operations were ramping up around Chicago.

“ICE has been gathering its agents. It has taken them longer than I think they anticipated,” he said. “I expect that they now have more people on the ground and will effectuate their plans to an even greater degree.”

Calls to an emergency hotline to report sightings of immigration officers have increased in the past week. One recent day the tally topped 500, though the calls included repeat information, mistaken reports and anti-immigrant harassment.

Immigration activists cited more aggressive tactics with masked and armed agents and some dressed in military-style camouflage. Already, many immigrant communities have been on edge, and fears were revived last week after a federal agent fatally shot a man who was allegedly evading arrest.

Activists say most arrests have come through traffic stops by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That included Monday when there was heavy ICE presence in the suburb of West Chicago, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) from Chicago.

Illinois state Sen. Karina Villa cited more than 15 arrests in the immigrant-heavy community of about 25,000, where roughly half the population is Latino. Most came from the traffic stop of a van, she said. Other arrests took place at a grocery store, apartment complex and a city street.

Villa did not have details of what prompted the stops or the circumstances of the arrests.

The flurry of activity prompted Villa, a West Chicago Democrat, to follow ICE vehicles Monday and livestream on Facebook. In one video, she walks along a busy intersection, as an SUV flashed police lights and another drove away.

“Not in my city! Not in my city!” she said to the drivers.

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security did not answer questions Monday about any arrests in Chicago, pointing to a news release last week about “Operation Midway Blitz,” which has netted 13 arrests. However, at least three people were picked up out of state, in Indiana and Kentucky, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

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Associated Press reporter Christine Fernando contributed to this report.