ICE Resources

The 1st Ward Office has heard from residents concerned for their own safety or the safety of their neighbors given the increase of immigration enforcement. This page is a compilation of information, resources, and tools regarding ICE presence and activity in Chicago.

In partnership with other Northwest Side elected officials, Alderman La Spata and 1st Ward staffers are trained in Rapid Response. Our office has canvassed our neighborhoods with Know Your Rights information and resources for immigrants, and are partnering with all our 1st Ward schools to set up patrols and offer volunteer assistance at times when our families are most at risk. We also attend semi-monthly meetings with various levels of government (city, county, state, and federal offices) as well as with our immigration nonprofit partners to stay up-to-date on immigration enforcement and best practices to keep our communities safe.

Know Your Rights yard signs and flyers for residents and posters for businesses are available for pick-up at the 1st Ward Office (1958 N. Milwaukee). If you’re interested in staying up-to-date on volunteer opportunities as they become available, please use the form below to register as a 1st Ward volunteer (if you are only interested in learning about immigration-related volunteer opportunities, please note that in the form).

join our volunteer network

QUICK LINKS

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What do I do if I think I see ICE or other immigration enforcement agents?
If you believe you have seen ICE, Customs and Border Patrol, or any other federal agents, call the ICIRR’s Family Support Network Hotline immediately at 855-435-7693. Use the SALUTE method to provide as much helpful information as possible:

Size: How many agents did you see?
Activity: What were they doing?
Location: Give an exact address or location.
Uniform: Are they masked? What color are their uniforms, if they are wearing them? Are they wearing a police vest? What does their vest say (e.g. ICE, POLICE, ATF, DEA, DHS, etc.)?
Time: Calling as soon as you see what you believe to be federal agents allows organizations to provide resources more efficiently.
Equipment: What did agents have with them? (e.g. weapons, flexicuffs, dogs, door breakers, sound cannon, vans, SUVs, etc.)

ICIRR's Family Support Network will then send your report to boots-on-the-ground teams to confirm immigration operations, protect nearby families and/or individuals, and mobilize community resources to the scene. 

If a suspected sighting has not been confirmed, please do not post on social media. Unverified reports can create fear and panic among our neighbors.

Where can I find additional resources?
Illinois Immigration Information is a centralized resources page put together by a coalition of immigrant rights agencies throughout the Chicagoland area. This site will have the most factual and up-to-date information regarding resources for residents including how to prepare for an ICE encounter, recent policy changes, and what to do if a loved on has been detained.

I, or someone I know, is undocumented but have children born in America. Is there information available for me?
Yes. The Civitas ChildLaw Center at Loyola University Chicago School of Law has put together a comprehensive legal guide to assist parents who are undocumented in safety planning for their children:  A Guide for Parents in Illinois who are Undocumented – Planning for your Children in Case of Detention or Deportation.

This comprehensive guide, created by the Center’s Legislation and Policy Clinic, is available in both English and Spanish. While no single resource can cover every situation, it serves as a critical starting point to help parents understand their rights and navigate the complex legal landscape.

This guide should be used with awareness of the rapidly changing and potentially volatile situation on the ground, and the ever-changing nature of immigration policy.

I’m a business owner. What if ICE comes to my business to detain my employees?
The National Law Employment Project and the National Immigration Law Center have created an employer guide with information on what to do if immigration enforcement comes to your business. Click here to access the guide.

What are my rights when traveling?
Know Your Rights at the airport with information from the ACLU.

How is the City of Chicago responding to this issue?
The Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights holds a monthly immigration briefing on recent immigration enforcement trends, and changes to federal, state, and local immigration policies. These virtual meetings are open to the public, and you can register to attend at bit.ly/CIRRBriefing. The next immigration briefing will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 1:00 PM.

On October 6, 2025, Mayor Brandon Johnson signed Executive Order 2025-8 prohibiting the use of City-owned parking lots, vacant lots, and garages for civil immigration enforcement staging areas, processing locations, or operations bases. This Executive Order:

    1. Prohibits access to City-owned properties from immigration agents.

    2. Implements the use of physical barriers, enforcement signage, and locked gates to block immigration agents from accessing City-owned properties.

    3. Provides free signage to Chicago residents and businesses asserting private properties restricting immigration activity. 

On September 30, 2025, Mayor Brandon Johnson signed Executive Order 2025-7 protecting the right to protest and facilitating safe and peaceful assembly. This Executive Order.

  1. Affirms the City's duties to uphold First Amendment rights to peaceful protest, and CPD's duties to ensure protestors' safety from federal agents.

On August 30, 2025, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed Executive Order 2025-6 denouncing any attempts to deploy the United States Armed Forces and/or the National Guard and/or militarized civil immigration enforcement in Chicago and to establish the Protecting Chicago Initiative. This Executive Order:

  1. Affirms Chicago’s rejection of the federal militarization of law enforcement and civil immigration enforcement.

  2. Reaffirms that the Chicago Police Department (CPD) remains under local control and that CPD officers are prohibited from participating in federal civil immigration enforcement or joint policing operations with the military or National Guard. The order also requires CPD officers to wear uniforms so residents can distinguish CPD officers from federal law enforcement/U.S. Armed Forces.

  3. Urges federal agents and military personnel operating in Chicago to wear visible identification, use body cameras, and avoid disguises—to protect public safety and trust. The Order makes clear that the City will use every available legal and legislative tool to counter coordinated efforts from the federal government that violate Chicagoans’ rights—especially the rights to protest and to due process.

  4. Establishes the Protecting Chicago Initiative to coordinate the work of designated City Departments to safeguard the rights and well-being of all Chicagoans in response to threats from federal actions or inaction.

Can Chicago police officers work with ICE or federal immigration enforcement?
No. Chicago's Welcoming City Ordinance bars any City agency from assisting federal agents with immigration-related enforcement. If you know of a city employee breaking this law, they can be reported to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) and the Chicago Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for investigation. 

How can I get involved?
One way to help keep our communities safe is by getting trained in Rapid Response. ICIRR’s next rapid response training will take place on Tuesday, October 14 at 4:00 PM. Register here. This training aims to strengthen community responses to ICE raids and to connect impacted people with the broader infrastructure of deportation defense. You will learn how to build a solidarity network that ensures we can support individuals and families in real time.

Another way to get involved is to become a court watch volunteer. Court Watch is a volunteer program founded in 2007 to observe and bear witness at detained immigrants’ hearings in Chicago. While Illinois passed legislation that banned immigrant detention within our state beginning in 2022, deportation cases are still processed in the Chicago Immigration Court nearly every weekday for immigrants - including Illinois residents - who are jailed in Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, and other states. If you'd like to volunteer with ICIRR's Court Watch program, please email icirrcourtwatch@gmail.com.

How can I stay up-to-date?
Follow the Northwest Side Rapid Response Team on Facebook and Instagram and sign up for their newsletter here.

To receive text notifications on verified ICE sightings in your area, sign up for ICIRR’s Eyes on ICE Text Network. You will also receive tips and reminders to keep yourself and your neighbors safe, ongoing updates related to Know Your Rights information, and opportunities to organize, advocate and take action. Sign up here.

To stay current on changes in immigration policy, we recommend following the immigration policy tracker and litigation tracker. For more localized information on what’s happening in immigration and to learn about upcoming events, sign up to receive the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights' newsletter!

Last but not least, attend a Know Your Rights Briefing! Not only is this information crucial for our immigrant community to know, but it's also incredibly important for non-immigrant community members to know in case they encounter federal agents in their neighborhood and wish to support their neighbors.

I'm not able to donate my time; is there another way I can support this work? 
The following organizations are leaders of immigrant justice in our community and would welcome any donation to help support their ongoing efforts: