Rev Marshall Hatch urged a group of famous black churches in Chicago’s West Side to carry their identification, stay in touch with their families and protest as the city prepares for the expected federal intervention.
“You need to start introducing people to your whereabouts so you don’t disappear,” Hatch said during his service at the New Pilgrim Mountain Missionary Baptist Church. “We won’t despair. We won’t feel threatened. We won’t give up and succumb to fascism and authoritarianism.”
As Chicago prepares for immigration enforcement crackdowns and possible National Guard deployments, churches across the city begin their response from the podium. Some have worked hard to calm fears about detention and deportation, while others have addressed the imminent possibility of street enforcement in the third largest U.S. city.
Donald Trump threatens federal intervention in democratic strongholds and can recently use the power of apocalypse warning in Chicago to combat crime and strengthen deportation. He repeatedly cites expected plans of strong opposition from local leaders and many residents, who call it unnecessary and unnecessary.
Fear in immigration circles has been high since Trump took office for the second time, but threats from more federal agencies and forces have also incited tensions, especially among black and Latino communities with trust in police.
Among the church’s participants were Lester Burks, a 74-year-old U.S. Army veteran, who said his military presence in Chicago would threaten the threat.
“I don’t want soldiers here,” he said. “They are trained to fight.”
Detailed information about the expected intervention is small, including its focus and when the expected starts. Trump’s border tsar Tom Tom Homan said in CNN’s ITU Nation that federal law enforcement action will be introduced this week for Chicago. He also promised more workplace enforcement actions at a modern Georgia factory.
“You can expect action in most sanctuary cities across the country,” he said.
this Trump administration Repeated and repeatedly targeted Chicago’s asylum laws, and failed to sue successfully, these laws are one of the most powerful laws in the country. His administration started a national immigration enforcement action in the city in January.
There is no official definition for sanctuary policies or sanctuary cities. These terms generally describe restrictions on cooperation with immigration and customs law enforcement. ICE enforces U.S. immigration laws nationwide, but sometimes seeks state and local help.
This time, the Department of Homeland Security plans to use a military base north of the city and reminds leaders in another suburb that they will use the federal immigration processing center there for a possible 45-day operation. Meanwhile, Trump said he might send the National Guard to New Orleans before Chicago.
Trump has deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington, where he also deployed police forces. A federal judge ruled that Los Angeles’ deployment was illegal.
“We don’t need another level of law enforcement and their presence to pretend they will address issues related to violence,” Democrat Danny Davis said in a press conference Sunday with other black-elected leaders in the city’s West Side.
Most of Chicago’s nearly 3 million people are black or Latino. New Pilgrim Hill is located near the city’s West Garfield Park, a black community facing ongoing crime and years of investment, including five schools near the church in 2013, part of the largest mass public closure in U.S. history.
Even as Chicago’s violent crime rate has dropped dramatically in recent years as part of a national trend, the church has often called for action against street violence. Its large stained glass art installation depicts the lives of slaves and commemorates the violent murder of black people. On Sunday, the church celebrated the groundbreaking nature of the nearby Arts and Action Center, which is part of the solution.
“We are not calling for military, we are calling for resources,” Hatch told his fellow countrymen. “We know there is a correlation between resources and violence.”
Elsewhere in the city, other churches remind people of rights when interacting with immigration agents and urge them to carry the necessary documents.
Many in Chicago are familiar with the feeling of being on the edge, and the expected action has hampered the city’s usual festival, Independence Day celebrations. Church leaders say Chicago’s immigration operations in January had a chilling impact on people’s attendance at immigrants and Latino churches when they live at home.
The clergy said they were preparing for the same job in the coming weeks.
“It feels like anything can happen at any time,” said Paco Amador, Pasco of the New Living Community Church in the small village community in Mexico. “It’s irresponsible not to talk about it.”

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