Chicago Residents Fight ICE Abductions, Deportations

By Cathleen GutekanstNov 15, 2025

Thousands of Chicago-area residents have undergone training in how to respond quickly to ICE raids as part of Rapid Response teams. These people are out on the street, blowing whistles and honking horns when they see ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents, and warning those in danger to seek cover. Rapid Responders also take regular shifts walking children to school so that their parents do not have to risk an ICE abduction at the drop-off site. Responders stand at nearby school corners to reassure school children that someone is there to protect them, to document what ICE does, and to seek help, if necessary.

The now numerous Rapid Response group networks in both the city of Chicago and the surrounding suburbs operate mostly with the guidance of ICIRR. The immigrant rights coalition notifies groups and individuals in its “Eyes on ICE” text chain, and conducts Zoom training sessions for those seeking to become Rapid Responders in their neighborhoods. The ICIRR hotline offers help in 13 languages — including Spanish, Polish, and Urdu.