Op-Ed: When the Federal Government Turns on a City, Silence Is Not an Option

By Lori E. Lightfoot

For months now, Chicago and the surrounding communities have been subjected to a federal immigration operation that has terrorized residents, traumatized families, and inflicted real harm on our city.

I do not use those words lightly.

Since September, ICE and other federal immigration agents have marauded through our streets—committing a homicide, shooting and seriously injuring individuals, destroying personal property, and repeatedly using excessive force against people who were peacefully protesting or simply going about their lives. As documented in federal court filings, these agents have trampled on the rights of our neighbors with seeming impunity.

To date, no federal immigration agent has been investigated by local, county, or state law enforcement authorities for these incidents. Not one.

What we are witnessing is not targeted enforcement aimed at protecting public safety. It is a sensationalized, militarized operation that has swept up moms, dads, grandparents, and children—undocumented residents, people with legal status, and U.S. citizens alike. The claim that this effort is focused on “the worst of the worst” has always been a lie, and the facts bear that out.

In the pursuit of cheap political points, the federal government has turned armed agents loose in our neighborhoods, without regard for the consequences to real people. There is simply no reason—none—for us to tolerate this kind of conduct by our own taxpayer-funded government.

The harm is ever present. Entire communities are living in fear. People are afraid to leave their homes, to go to work, to visit neighborhood businesses, to live their lives openly. Families are altering their daily routines to avoid being seen or noticed.

Businesses across Chicagoland are feeling the impact. Small business owners are watching foot traffic evaporate. Employers are losing workers who are too afraid to show up. Local economies are absorbing the shock of a federal operation that has made normal life impossible for thousands of residents.

This is not how a city functions. And it is no way to run a nation.

Chicago has become ground zero for what happens when the federal government abandons restraint and accountability. What started here is now being replicated across blue cities throughout the country: masked agents, military-style tactics, little transparency, and no meaningful oversight.

That is why I launched the ICE Accountability Project.

The Project is an independent, public-facing initiative designed to document and preserve evidence of alleged criminal and abusive conduct by federal immigration agents. It exists because documentation of these incidents is currently scattered and vulnerable to being lost or erased—and accountability cannot occur if the facts disappear.

At reporticenow.com, residents can submit video, photographs, and written accounts of what they have witnessed. Submissions are reviewed and verified before being made public, with safeguards to protect due process and the identities of those who come forward. A mask cannot—and will not—shield agents from accountability.

Let me be clear: I respect the thousands of federal law enforcement officers who live up to their oaths every day. I worked alongside them. I understand the sacrifices they make. But this Project is focused on those who crossed the line—those who believe they are above the law.

Accountability is not anti-law enforcement. It is essential to democracy.

What has inspired me, even in the face of this state-sponsored terror, is the courage of everyday Chicagoans—people who have formed safety brigades, documented what they see, and protested peacefully across neighborhoods throughout our city and region. They have shown the nation what participatory democracy looks like when people refuse to surrender their humanity.

The ICE Accountability Project exists to further empower them—and to ensure that what is happening in our city is neither hidden nor normalized.

Chicago’s business and civic communities have a role to play in this moment—and many already are. I have been heartened by the ways nonprofits, advocates, and business leaders have come together to protect their neighbors, speak out, and put real resources behind their values. We need more of all of that.

Because what we are doing in Chicago matters far beyond our city limits. Chicago is setting an example. And examples give people courage.

The impact of this federal operation has spared almost no zip code across our region. Masked agents have made their presence known throughout Chicagoland, scooping people up simply because of how they look or where they live. That is not America. Those are among the most anti-American values there are.

Our economy does not exist apart from the people who power it. When fear drives people into the shadows, the harm reverberates across our entire region.

I am proud of this city. I believe deeply in Chicago and in the people who call it home. Through the ICE Accountability Project, I am doing my part to ensure that what is happening here is documented, preserved, and confronted—so that those who cross the line are not shielded from accountability.

Because when we rise together, when we stand shoulder to shoulder, we remind ourselves—and the nation—that fear will not define us, silence is not our legacy, and democracy is something we actively protect.