Resisting Mass Deportation Under Donald Trump

CHikago, Illinois—In the run-up to this election, Donald Trump promised “The largest deportation program in American history to remove criminals from the country.” Immigrants have the following statistical characteristics: Lowest rate of criminal activityto Trump and his allies, anyone who enters the country without proper documentation is a criminal. When President Trump says he wants to deport criminals, he means all illegal immigrants in our communities: workers, homeowners, small business owners, parents, spouses, and children.

Such a large-scale deportation system would have devastating effects on American communities, large and small; family separation, business closure,and Hollowing out of entire neighborhoods.

During President Trump’s first term, he ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is raiding major cities, including cities and counties similar to ours, that have sanctuary policies. His xenophobic statements and actions have caused untold harm to our immigrant communities. Now, as he returns to power promising an even larger deportation dragnet, local governments and communities must take bold action to counter a system that criminalizes their neighbors. Must be.

At the heart of this resistance is grassroots organizing. We must be prepared to take direct action at the local level to counter the federal deportation system. This is a sign of what many communities across the country did in 2017: enact comprehensive and strong sanctuary city policies, organize neighbors to take direct action to protect their immigrant neighbors, and provide mutual aid and support. It means continuing to build and expand networks of solidarity.

Community-based grassroots organizations are one of the most powerful tools to resist mass deportations. In 2017, communities across the country, including those in Chicago, organized the Deportation Defense Network. On Chicago’s Northwest Side, we regional defense committee It’s outside the 35th Ward Office. We trained hundreds of neighbors on how to identify ICE in their communities and how to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience. We knocked on thousands of doors to inform our neighbors about their fundamental constitutional rights and what to do if ICE came to their homes, workplaces, or neighborhoods. In 2025, we must continue this grassroots organizing effort, and elected officials representing immigrant communities must ensure that local offices provide “Know Your Rights” education and deportation protection efforts. It must be part of the core population services provided.

Disrupting President Trump’s deportation regime will require local and state governments to implement strong local non-cooperation policies against ICE. It is not enough to declare our cities, states, and public institutions sacrosanct. We must ensure that local and state laws protect undocumented communities from ICE by prohibiting information sharing and cooperation with ICE, including with third-party contractors.

In Chicago, grassroots organizing to protect our neighbors led to one of the most important events of all. Strong metropolitan sanctuary city policies domestically. The Chicago Police Department is legally prohibited from cooperating with ICE under any circumstances, without exception. President Trump’s second term will be about defending these policies already on the agenda, expanding the number of cities and states with them on their plans, and closing loopholes that undermine them. . For example, Cook County in Chicagoland prohibits public officials from working with ICE, but ICE still targets undocumented immigrants in the county through data purchased from ICE. Third party data broker Anyone who does business with the county. That’s why we’re both working to pass the ICE No Data Act through the County Commission.