{"id":5064058,"date":"2025-09-08T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/illatinonews.com\/?p=5064058"},"modified":"2025-09-08T08:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T08:00:00","slug":"chicago-protest-thousands-rally-against-trumps-national-guard-deployment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/2025\/09\/08\/chicago-protest-thousands-rally-against-trumps-national-guard-deployment\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Protest: Thousands Rally Against Trump\u2019s National Guard Deployment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CHICAGO \u2014 Thousands of demonstrators gathered Saturday afternoon in Chicago\u2019s Gallery Plaza to protest the Trump administration\u2019s deployment of the National Guard to the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community members assembled around 5 p.m. and marched through downtown Chicago delivering a pointed message to the president about his plans to ramp up ICE operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to voice for those that are not here, that can\u2019t be here,\u201d said Jose Luis Leon, the son of Mexican and Panamanian immigrants who attended with his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leon said some community members stayed home, fearing ICE presence and the possibility of being detained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The protest followed a Truth Social post<\/a> from President Trump that showed an apocalyptic image of him in Chicago with the caption \u201c\u2018I love the smell of deportations in the morning\u2026 Chicago about to find out why it\u2019s called the Department of WAR.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His administration stated that it would intensify immigration enforcement in Chicago, much like it had in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and would deploy National Guard troops to support federal operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre they gonna go home at the end of the night? That\u2019s what they\u2019re scared of,\u201d Leon said. \u201cI know some people that didn\u2019t come because of that fear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organizers said the demonstration wasn\u2019t only about sending a message to Washington but also about preparing residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe said that Chicago is going to learn what he means by department of war. That is threatening war on an American city,\u201d said Jay Becker, co-facilitator for the Refuse Fascism Chicago chapter and an organizer of the protest. \u201cThat is not only illegal and unconstitutional, but you cannot call it anything but fascism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her statement echoed a response from Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who wrote on X<\/a> that Trump\u2019s post threatened war on an American city. \u201cThis is not a joke. This is not normal,\u201d Pritzker said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s Mexican Independence Day festival, El Grito Chicago, scheduled for Sept. 13\u201314 in Grant Park, was canceled. Organizers said<\/a> the celebration, which draws tens of thousands, posed too great a risk in light of the deployment and heightened ICE activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becker also handed out whistles, which she said residents use to alert each other when ICE agents appear. She urged protesters to record their encounters and keep a record of federal activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Violence in Chicago is another point the administration has cited in sending troops. The White House has pointed to recent shootings, while local officials note that violent crime overall has been on a downward trend in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson pushed back online, posting on X<\/a>: \u201cWe must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrump bringing the National Guard to Chicago is illegal and a waste of resources,\u201d said Kevin Martinez, an Army veteran who argued the focus should be on youth and police reform, not federal troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChicago has been specifically frustrating because we know our rights,\u201d said Omar Flores, chair of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. \u201cWe\u2019re going around telling people their rights so they\u2019re not able to carry out arrests the way they want to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike National Guard deployments in Washington, Chicago\u2019s operation is expected to focus exclusively on immigration enforcement rather than crime prevention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chicago has long been a focal point for DHS and ICE because of its large immigrant population and sanctuary city status. Illinois has also enacted robust laws limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, including the Illinois Trust Act and the Way Forward Act, which prohibit the state from entering into detention contracts with the federal government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Communities in neighborhoods such as Pilsen and Back of the Yards have expanded rapid response networks, training volunteers to monitor and report ICE activity. Flores described these efforts as effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By evening, demonstrators dispersed, carrying signs and \u201cknow your rights\u201d flyers to share with neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Angeles Ponpa <\/strong>is a multimedia journalist from Illinois<\/em>. A graduate student at Northwestern Medill, specializing in Politics, Policy, and Foreign Affairs,<\/strong> Ponpa is a former Fulcrum intern<\/em>.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Protestors gather at Gallery Plaza in Chicago to voice their opposition to threats by the Trump administration of sending National Guard Troops to up ICE raids and combat crime in the city. Sep. 6th, 2025. Angeles Ponpa\/Latino News Network<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO \u2014 Thousands of demonstrators gathered Saturday afternoon in Chicago\u2019s Gallery Plaza to protest the Trump administration\u2019s deployment of the National Guard 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