Residents voice frustrations with Chicago police interactions during immigration raids: 'Who protects us?'

Chicago residents packed Thalia Hall in Pilsen Thursday for a special meeting held by the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability on the Chicago police's interactions with federal law enforcement agents.

Nearly two dozen speakers voiced anger at the way Chicago police have interacted with federal agents in recent months and shared details of times they believed officers were illegally coordinating with the feds.

Many also voiced frustration with the body for taking too long to act on the issue, as the meeting was forced by police district councilors who gathered 2,000 signatures to trigger the meeting through ordinance despite asking for one in November.

“It is absolutely unacceptable to force district councilors to get signatures to have not a hearing, but another listening session,” said 40th Ward Ald. Andre Vasquez. “Even if it takes a whole lot, and it doesn't take 218 days, the second they tried to get one you could have had one.”

Many speakers called for the arrest of agents who violate local laws and for the suspension of officers who cooperate with them, in addition to demanding CPD brass start attending CCPSA meetings.

Several speakers said CPD was being weaponized against rapid responders who were tailing agents to alert the community of their presence, though they said they weren’t driving erratically, as opposed to the federal agents they were following.

Omar Lopez, a rapid responder, said he had been following agents along North Sheridan Road on Dec. 17 when he was pulled over by Chicago police, who told him they had been called by the agents he was following.

“They stopped me and said agents had called 911 various times stating I was attempting to ram their car multiple times,” Lopez said in Spanish through a translator. “They are being protected by police, but who protects us?”

Jax Lopez — a Chicago resident who is the brother and son of Mexican immigrants with no relation to Omar — said CPD was “turning their back on our community,” by arresting protesters and clearing the way for agents to leave the scene when people show up to demonstrate.

“It sends a message that they are willing to violate the Welcoming City Ordinance just to say it's for public safety,” Jax Lopez said.

Chicago police interactions with federal agents have been called into question numerous times since President Donald Trump ramped up immigration enforcement in Chicago.

In June, Chicago police caught flak after officers responded to a call from a Department of Homeland Security official asking for crowd control help during a protest that grew to 40 people as agents detained people at a South Loop immigration office. It led to City Council hearings and uncertainty regarding whether the Office of Inspector General or the Civilian Office of Police Accountability would investigate the interactions.

The department once again came under fire Oct. 4 after a commander told officers to hold back during a Brighton Park shooting — in which a federal agent shot a woman several times — after a crowd of neighbors and protesters formed. The woman, Marimar Martinez, survived the shooting and was accused of boxing in a car driven by the feds, though federal prosecutors later dismissed the case against her.

Ten days later, Chicago officers were on scene for a similar situation in the East Side neighborhood, only to be tear gassed along with protesters as they secured the scene, even after they asked agents to hold chemical munitions.

But some speakers were more concerned about a lack of action from Chicago officers.

Chris Buie-Gentry, a veteran who was in Little Village when agents deployed tear gas Oct. 25, said an agent pointed a gun at him in front of multiple CPD officers.

“He pointed his gun at me and said ‘You’re dead liberal,’” Buie-Gentry recounted an agent telling him.

Similarly, many were frustrated by the lack of action from City Council, including multiple council members like Vasquez, Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th) and Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th). Manaa-Hoppenworth used her time to caution the agency to act or be voted out.

“To CCPSA, I want to remind you all, while I’m very glad we’re here, you didn't exist a few years ago,” said Manaa-Hoppenworth. “Listen to what you’re hearing today and work to hold all law enforcement accountable.”