As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detains people across Chicagoland on an unprecedented scale, Oak Park’s activists are stitching together networks of resistance, risking their own safety to shield their communities. Local governments are also pushing back, with officials attending protests and passing legislation aimed at thwarting ICE’s efforts. 

Operation Midway Blitz, a crackdown on illegal immigration, has led to a wave of arrests and detentions in the Chicago area since Sept. 8.

The Department of Homeland Security, the agency that oversees ICE, did not return a request for comment by press time, but the agency has defended its operations. “ICE launched Operation Midway Blitz to remove illegal alien threats to public safety, which is exactly what we have done in Chicago,” a DHS press release from Oct. 30 stated.  

The operation is centered around the Broadview ICE facility, only three miles from Oak Park, where those detained are processed. Hundreds of people congregate there regularly from all over Chicagoland to protest.

On Nov. 7, a group of 15 moms, “the overwhelming majority” of them from Oak Park, sat in front of the Broadview ICE facility in an act of civil disobedience, according to Nell McNamara, who was part of the group. McNamara is also the wife of Cameron McLaughlin, who teaches physical education at Oak Park and River Forest High School. “We all climbed over the barricade at the same time, and we got in a circle and held hands and then sat down,” she said. Once they were seated, they started chanting “this is what democracy looks like” until state police arrested them, she added. 

The protesters organized without the help of any organization or advocacy group, “purely from the ground up,” McNamara said. All 15 have been charged with disorderly conduct, resisting a peace officer and pedestrian on a roadway. They have a future court date and are working with the National Lawyers Guild to identify legal counsel. 

“We had to do something,” said McNamara. “We had to put our white privileged selves on the line because we couldn’t rely on the people who were being harmed, people of color to do that. We need to get up off the sidelines and stand up and protect our neighbors and our friends.”

The Oak Park moms are among many organizations and individuals across the area coordinating volunteer efforts, with neighbors setting up text chains and signal chats to alert the community. The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) is among the organizations sending out alerts when ICE agents are reported. 

Those incidents have become a regular occurrence across Chicago and Oak Park. In a recent example, neighbors reported a spike in ICE sightings on Nov. 8, with ICIRR confirming sightings on the 700 block of Gunderson Avenue, the 700 block of Elmwood Avenue, the 300 block of South Euclid Avenue, the 1000 block of North Woodbine Avenue and numerous other locations. ICIRR also confirmed that at least four people were detained on Nov. 8, and that ICE agents were seen driving a black Chevrolet Silverado, a Ford Expedition, and multiple other cars.

On Oct. 27, an alert came from the 600 block of North Cuyler Avenue in Oak Park. Liz Lukehart, a member of an ICIRR team who lived nearby, reported that ICE detained a painter on his way to work. “I’m very involved in local rapid response groups, and this happened right outside my house, so I was on the scene right away,” she said.

The village of Oak Park has taken action against ICE activity as well. The village board unanimously passed an “ICE Free Zone” ordinance at its Nov. 4 meeting that prohibits federal immigration agents from using village property for staging or processing. It mirrors recent legislation in Chicago, Evanston, Cook County, Lake County and other area communities.

In addition, many local officials have joined the protests in Broadview. Some have faced legal consequences.

Brian Straw, an Oak Park trustee, was among a group of six people indicted on federal conspiracy charges, on Sept. 16, after allegedly  surrounding an ICE vehicle and aggressively banging on the car and pushing against it to hinder its ability to move. Straw has been indicted by a grand jury and is now facing federal charges of conspiracy to impede a U.S. law enforcement officer. 

“The Trump Justice Department’s decision to seemingly hand-pick public officials like me for standing up against these inhumane policies will not deter me from fulfilling my oath of office,” Straw said in a statement. “I will fight these baseless charges, and I will continue to stand with and protect our immigrant neighbors.”

Juan Munoz, a trustee of Oak Park Township, was detained on Oct. 3 at the Broadview facility, according to a post on the township’s official Facebook page. No charges were filed against Munoz, and he was released from custody later the same day. Munoz was attending a protest outside the Broadview ICE facility alongside many Oak Parkers, including Village President Vicki Scaman.

Scott Sakiyama, an Oak Park attorney, was detained temporarily on Oct. 20 near his child’s elementary school after trying to warn the community about ICE presence in the area, he said in an interview. He was issued a citation for impeding a federal officer and cutting off an agent’s vehicle, charges he denies. 

Sakiyama, who is a member of an ICIRR rapid response team, began following an ICE van in his car after seeing it exit the Broadview ICE facility. He then followed it onto Interstate 290 and as it exited at Austin into Oak Park, he said. While following the car he was blowing a whistle to alert others of its presence. 

Two agents approached Sakiyama’s car near Lincoln Elementary School, 1111 S. Grove Ave., he said. “They got out of the car, came towards me,” he recalled. “They had their guns drawn. They told me to get out of the car.” The agents reached through his window and opened his car door, then forced him into the ICE van, according to Sakiyama. “At the time it felt like I wasn’t in my body,” he said. “It felt like I was watching one of the videos of them doing this online.”

As Trapeze reported in October, federal prosecutors dropped charges on Oct. 10 against Paul Ivery, a cafeteria worker at Oak Park and River Forest High School who was charged with allegedly assaulting an ICE officer during a protest. Ivery’s community rallied behind him after his arrest, writing letters and speaking up for him during court hearings. 

These examples are a few of the many ways local residents are responding to federal immigration raids. Some activists are continuing the work they began in 2023, when an influx of Venezuelan migrants were bussed in from Texas. 

The Migrant Ministry, an interfaith organization sponsored by the Catholic Parishes of Oak Park, has shifted its focus to accommodate the changing needs of immigrant communities in and around Oak Park. Until recently, the ministry primarily served as a resource center, offering English classes, legal immigration assistance, childcare and a “free store” where migrants could access food, clothing, and toiletries—all run in St. Edmund by local volunteers.

“The atmosphere has definitely changed,” volunteer Monika Novak said. “The number of people that we see declined drastically. There’s just a lot more fear. We hear from so many people and families that they are afraid to leave their homes. People just don’t want to risk being outside.”