cross-posted from: https://infosec.pub/post/49307197

Federal immigration enforcement has intensified across Chicago in recent weeks, but the Trump administration’s tactics have been far less publicized than during the height of its deportation campaign last fall, legal groups and immigration advocates say.

Last week, at least 20 people were arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Chicago, and another 17 people have been arrested so far this week, according to reports from rapid response groups who document the arrests.

Those numbers seem to be an increase from recent months, said Marcela Rodriguez, co-chair of the Illinois Latino Agenda and a member of the nonprofit group Enlace Chicago.

The Southwest Side, particularly the neighborhoods of Back of the Yards, Brighton Park and Gage Park, have been targeted the most over the last two weeks, legal groups said.

The heightened ICE activity in Chicago comes amid an escalated deportation campaign by the Trump administration across the country.

On Tuesday, an ICE officer shot and killed a man in Houston during an attempted traffic stop.

During the five-day period at the end of June, ICE arrested more than 10,000 people. The figures indicate that while the administration no longer targets individual cities high-profile efforts, the arrests continue and are surging.

The vast majority of recent detainees in Chicago also have no criminal records, said Berto Aguayo, a lawyer and co-policy chair of the Latino Leadership Council.

…

Legal groups said those numbers also may underestimate the actual amount of arrests made because federal immigration agents have operated more discreetly compared to last fall, when caravans of agents dressed in military fatigues would roam streets, use helicopters, film arrests and boast about them on social media.

Still, many recent arrests have happened in public spaces, such as courthouses, schools and grocery stores.