Protesters rally against ICE in downtown Chicago

CHICAGO – ICE protests are underway in downtown Chicago.

Demonstrators were protesting ICE and other federal agents engaged in the mass deportations happening nationwide.

Images of people in Chicago being lured to immigration appointments before being detained are fresh in the minds of many. Comm’r. Jessica Vasquez saw what happened last Wednesday in the South Loop.

“I have never seen anything like, and I know I have a resident who was detained. She has a daughter at one of our elementary schools. She was the only parent in the city. What’s going to happen to what child?” Vasquez said.

Those protesting on Tuesday said solidarity is key.

“I feel like ICE is treating the immigrants wrong and they’re not giving them the freedom that everybody else should, so I feel like we should stand up and protest it, because that’s the right thing to do,” demonstrator Dezirre Harris said.

The protest started at Federal Plaza and moved throughout the downtown streets, appearing to reach as far as DuSable Lake Shore Drive.

All appeared to be peaceful, but our cameras did catch a car appearing to drive through the crowd of marching protesters, narrowly missing them. It is unclear if the person in the vehicle has been apprehended by law enforcement.

Tensions in Los Angeles also remain high after President Trump sent the National Guard and Marines to the city of angels to assist with immigration raids.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) spoke Tuesday reflecting on the deployment of National Guardsmen to Los Angeles.

“Addressing it effectively means not grandstanding, but giving law enforcement the resources they need to control the situation,” Durbin said.

Durbin added on Tuesday what we’re seeing in Los Angeles is the first time the National Guard has been deployed for a domestic operation without the request of a governor since the 1960s, when the National Guard was sent to Alabama to protect Civil Rights demonstrations.