About 1,000 anti-Trump protesters marched through the streets of downtown Chicago near Columbia’s campus on Wednesday, Oct. 8, rallying against the administration’s immigration policies and the potential arrival of National Guard troops into the city.
The “Out of our Streets” demonstration, which began around the corner from the 33 E. Ida B. Wells building, was organized by the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda.
Chants of “The people united will never be defeated” echoed through the Loop as demonstrators hoisted hand-painted signs denouncing federal raids with “I like my country like I like my coffee, no ice” and “We the people are sick of this bullshit.”
The action came as residents prepared for the possible deployment of several hundred members of the Texas National Guard into the city, even as Illinois and the city of Chicago have filed lawsuits to stop it.
“We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s invasion,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement.
Leo Pargo, who lives on the South Side Chicago. said he marched in solidarity with “people standing up and against the illegitimate ICE raids and terror that has been coming down on people all across the Chicagoland area.”
The peaceful march went by the Trump Tower before looping back near campus.
Joely King from South Side Chicago, who is also running for election in the U.S. House to represent Illinois’ 1st Congressional District, said she attended the protest because “it’s like standing up to a bully.”
“The thing with authoritarians, which is what we’re dealing with with the Trump administration, is that they need people to comply in advance to have any power, because it really is a weak movement, it does not support the people,” King said. “So showing up and saying no, you don’t actually have the popular support, you don’t have the power – it shows them that we will not give them what they want and just let them roll us over.”
In September, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol began Operation Midway Blitz and Operation At Large when Trump administration officials said they would target undocumented immigrants with serious criminal convictions.
However, the past month has seen escalating confrontations between federal agents and the public. Officers have shot two people, killing one, and deployed tear gas on protesters and emergency responders. They have also fired rubber bullets into crowds, detained U.S. citizens, including minors, and handcuffed a Chicago alderperson inside a hospital. A chemical projectile was fired at a local TV reporter, and a journalist was briefly detained.
Gabby Cardone from New York said she attended the protest after seeing the arrival of members of the Texas National Guard, which are currently at an U.S. Army Reserve training center in Elwood near Joliet. A Chronicle reporter observed guard members there on Wednesday, Oct. 8.
“I saw this protest and was like, we need to show that Chicagoans care about protecting our neighbors, protecting our city and standing up to Trump,” Cardone said.
Alexandra Ramos from Naperville said the importance of the protest for her was “we have to not just show up in protest, but organize as a community.”
“I think that it’s important not just to come out to the big protests, but even after work and to show up at the immigration courts and witness what’s being done in the middle of the day in broad daylight, or showing up in our neighborhoods,” Ramos said. “I think all of this is so important because it’s a time where we can’t just stand by and let this happen.”
Copy edited by Emma Jolly
