Chicago, IL – On September 30, 1500 Chicagoans marched down Magnificent Mile to protest Trump’s threats of using the city as a military training ground. This past week has seen the effects of Operation Blitz in full force, with heavy presence of ICE and other federal agents conducting deportations. Trump’s speech to top U.S. generals the same day showed he intends to escalate the federal occupation with the military.

Ramped up repression means ramped up fight back!

“They are dehumanizing our communities. They are inflicting terror on our families. Separating families. Let’s not forget that when ICE murdered Silverio [Villegas-Gonzalez], the only thing they said was that he was an illegal. They did not say that he was a father, a worker, and a member of our community,” said Gabriela Hernandezm of Casa DuPage, speaking to the crowd in Spanish.

Hernandez also stated, “We are here today, protesting again, to tell this administration that the Mexicano/Latino community are not criminals. It is the time for us to speak firmly and clearly about these things, because if not, they will come to silence all of us.”

Reverend Jonathan Brooks of Live Free Illinois stated, “ICE has been accused of violating a consent decree meant to protect families from warrantless arrests. This disregard for legal protections tears at the very fabric of trust in our democracy.”

Brooks continued, “A federal judge has already ruled that targeting deportations based on political speech is unconstitutional – yet ICE continues to act as if it is above the law. Let’s be clear: this is not about safety. This is about authoritarianism, fear and control. Our communities do not need to be occupied – they need to be respected.”

“We saw over the weekend how ICE agents shamelessly occupied the streets of downtown and detained fellow residents. Over in Broadview, protesters and journalists are being shot at, teargassed, and brutalized. In a raid in South Shore just last night, ICE, FBI and other federal agents ransacked 70 apartments, knocked down doors, threw stuff all over the place, and detained 50 people – including Black U.S. citizens,” said Angel Naranjo of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

Naranjo continued, “Trump hates Chicago because he is a racist reactionary who represents the class enemy – the monopoly capitalist class – and this enemy can’t stand us. Trump and his lackeys are mad and ramping up their attacks – and so we’re ramping up our fight back! The masses of our city – and in particular the Black, Chicano/Latino, immigrant and working-class masses – are putting up a just fight against this rotten imperialist system that is tearing apart our families and occupying our neighborhoods! We are building a movement to stop the raids, and our demand is legalization for all undocumented people.”

“What we need right now is solidarity. The solidarity that Fred Hampton talked about. The solidarity that Assata Shakur deserved. We need solidarity with federal workers, with day laborers, teachers, nurses, warehouse workers. We need solidarity across unions. All public unions, trade unions, across communities. We need the solidarity of all working people,” said Jill Manrique of Chicago Jobs for Justice.

A member of Students for Justice in Palestine – Chicago (SJP Chicago) ended the program by reminding the crowd, ”The kidnapping of families and workers, and the occupations of our city’s streets is just an escalation of policy that has been standard in this nation since its inception.”

After the program, Chicagoans loudly marched down Magnificent Mile, one of the biggest commercial corridors in the city. Protests ended at the Water Tower, finishing with Assata’s “It is our duty to fight for our freedom” chant.

Enemies from within

“We should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military. Cuz we’re going into Chicago very soon,” said Trump in front of the U.S. top military leaders, stating that there were enemies from within that the military must apprehend.

Trump’s deployment of federal forces is an escalation of the ongoing occupation of Black, Chicano/Latino, and working-class communities by the Chicago Police Department (CPD). Trump aims to ramp up this oppression and squash the working and oppressed people who are getting organized to fight back against this. From the 2020 George Floyd rebellion, to the 2025 LA uprising against ICE, working and oppressed are wanting and mobilizing for an end to this terror. The ruling class of this country knows this, and is ramping to continue its grip of oppressed people in this country.

Join the resistance!

This mobilization was called by the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda (CATA), a coalition of over 80 organizations building a united front against the reactionary Trump administration. Sign up to get notified when the next mobilization happens at coalitionagainsttrumpagenda.org

Join the resistance! Trump has a long oppressive agenda, and we’re here to defeat all of it.

#ChicagoIL #IL #PeoplesStruggles #Trump #NationalGuard #InJusticeSystem #ImmigrantRights

From Fight Back! News via this RSS feed