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October Immigration Briefing

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On Tuesday, October 21st, the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights hosted a virtual Immigration Briefing with our community partners. The briefing covered the increase in ICE enforcement we’ve seen in Chicago, several recent federal court decisions impacting Chicago,  recent attacks on lawful immigration, and more.

As always, none of the below should be considered legal advice! The federal policy and legal landscape around immigration is changing rapidly, so any of the information below may soon be out of date. If you’re concerned that any of these updates may impact you, we recommend getting an immigration screening from an attorney. Visit Illinoisimmigrationinfo.org to get connected with legal support.

City Updates

In the past month, Chicago has been subject to increasingly violent immigration operations in Chicagoland. More and more immigrants have been abducted from our streets––including construction workers, rideshare drivers, landscapers, and most recently, a parent of a child who is currently undergoing cancer treatment––and protestors and rapid responders have been tear gassed, and in one instance, shot.

According to data from the Resurrection Project: between January 1st–July 19th, 1,470 people have been arrested in Illinois. The majority of arrests are from Mexico and Venezuela, followed by Colombia, Guatemala and Ecuador. 22 arrests so far have been deemed illegal by a judge following the work of the ACLU and NIJC. We expect these numbers to rise following the uptick in immigration enforcement over the past few months. 

In response to this federal escalation, Mayor Brandon Johnson issued the following executive orders:

  • Protecting Chicago, which prohibits local law enforcement from wearing masks or otherwise concealing their identity and requires them to display ID, and also requires them to wear and activate body cameras during any law enforcement activities that involve the public.
  • Right to Protest, which reaffirms the City’s commitment to ensuring public protest remains a vital and protected part of civic life in Chicago, and directs local police to protect protesters’ constitutional rights, even if federal authorities attempt to restrict.
  • “ICE Free Zone,” which prohibits federal immigration agents from using any City-owned property in their ongoing operations in Chicago.

Mechanisms for enforcement on all of these remain unclear! We are working to get clarity from  the Mayor’s Office.

In the meantime, the Committee has also been working legislatively to combat the increasing lawlessness of federal immigration enforcement. On October 15th, we held a meeting to pass several pieces of legislation: 

  • R2025-0019961: Call for the IL Congressional delegation to demand an investigation into potential misconduct by the DHS and other federally deputized agents;
  • SR2025-0019952: Condemnation of practices by federal immigration enforcement agents that endanger children; urging resident reporting of immigration enforcement misconduct; and calls for federal and state action regarding ICE misconduct
  • SR2025-0019181: Call for support of immigrant communities, racial justice, and constitutional freedoms and opposition of military presence in Chicago

The first two were passed in the City Council meeting on October 16th; the third was deferred and published due to minor feedback from the Department of Law, and will be voted on in next month’s City Council Meeting.

In addition to the legislation above, the Committee also introduced an Immigration Enforcement Reporting Ordinance (O2025-0019959), which would require daily reporting on all immigration enforcement  interactions from city departments. This ordinance has been referred to the Committee on Public Safety, and we look forward to the eventual hearing. 

Federal Litigation Updates

Illinois & City of Chicago v. Trump

In early October, a complaint was filed to block the National Guard members from deploying in Chicago and surrounding areas. Judge April Perry granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). On appeal, the court allowed the Trump Administration to federalize the national guard, but denied the request to actually deploy it. President Trump has appealed to the Supreme Court, and attorneys have written a brief urging the high court to keep the TRO in place.

Temporary Restraining Order on ICE Use of Force

A complaint was filed to stop federal agents from using excessive force like tear gas and riot control weapons against journalists, protestors, and religious leaders. Judge Sara Ellis granted a TRO until October 23rd; she has since called a follow-up hearing due to reports of the order being violated, and has modified the order to require that federal agents wear and activate body-worn cameras.

The Castañon Nava Consent Decree limits ICE from conducting vehicle stops or warrantless or collateral arrests. Earlier this month, a federal judge extended the Castañon Nava Consent Decree, which prohibits ICE from arresting people without warrants or probable cause.

While this is a huge win, it is not necessarily going to stop officers on the ground from continuing these aggressive tactics, and it will require community support to ensure that the Department of Homeland Security is held accountable for any potential violations.

If you witness what appears to be a warrantless arrest, report it to the ICIRR Family Support Hotline at 855-435-7693. If you have access to the detained person’s information, please fill out NIJC’s referral Form.

Find out more about the Castañon Nava Consent Decree Settlement.

Attacks on Lawful Immigration and Other Policy Changes

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Updates

The Trump administration is continuing to take aim at lawful immigration, by targeting those who have used our legal system appropriately to access immigration benefits for which they are eligible, including: 

  • Venezuela 2021 TPS designation set to expire November 7, 2025.
    • TPS for those who have 2021 or 2023 status that registered by 9/10/2025, OR have a pending re-registration application, is extended until October 2, 2026 
  • Haiti: Extended until February 3, 2026 
  • Afghanistan: TPS ended in July 2025

Litigation continues on all of these items, so this information may change in future weeks and months.

USCIS Policy Changes for Citizenship

The USCIS has also issued a number of policy changes designed to make the citizenship process more difficult, including a new naturalization test, which will be applied to everyone who submitted their application on or after October 20th.

The new test includes more questions, many of which have discrepancies and some do not as straight forward as previous exams.

In addition, there have also been changes to the Good Moral Character (GMC) requirement for naturalization. The administration has increased their attempts to deny citizenship to applicants based on GMC, including

  • Weighing subjective factors like positive contributions to American society)
  • Conducting neighborhood interviews (previously, USCIS had largely waived this requirement by replacing it with biometric checks and criminal history checks).

Naturalization applications are still encouraged, but attorneys encourage those applying to seek a consultation with an immigration attorney before applying, so they can flag any potential issues!

Asylum Updates

The administration is also putting unprecedented hurdles in place for those seeking asylum. New fees have been introduced for asylum seekers, including an $100 Asylum Application Fee, and an $100 Annual Asylum Fee. In addition, judges now have the discretion and power to preterminate cases that fail to make a clear and evident claim for asylum based on their application, instead of requiring a hearing. Previously, applicants could present evidence, testimony, and expert witnesses at a hearing before a judge decided on their case.

Operation “Freaky Friday”

ICE sent letters to Unaccompanied Children threatening to detain them in adult detention centers if they do not depart from the U.S. voluntarily, and asking them to waive their rights to pursue immigration relief they may qualify for in exchange for a payment of $2,500. 

This operation is limited to unaccompanied children (children who arrived in the U.S. without an accompanying parent or guardian) aged 14–17 who are in federal custody.

This operation is in violation of a 2021 permanent injunction, and NIJC and the American Immigration Council filed an emergency motion to enforce the injunction, which was granted.

Good News

While this news can feel overwhelming, the good news is that the community is fighting back, and succeeding! Immigration attorneys and organizations have pursued litigation against the federal government and succeeded in many cases, including those mentioned above as well as:

  • Prohibition of courthouse arrest: Cook County Chief Judge Evans issued a General Administrative Order that bars courthouse arrests, which includes arrests both inside the courthouse, as well as entryways, sidewalks, driveways, and parking lots. Any arrest in or adjacent to a Cook County courthouse would require a judicial warrant. This is great news, as courthouses can now remain open to those who are trying to fulfill their legal responsibilities without risking their freedom.
  • Habeas Corpus releases: There have also been recent successes with Habeas cases seeking the release or bond hearing of those who are being detained without a hearing.

Chicago has also seen a tremendous amount of advocacy from community groups engaging in rapid response, meal trains, school drop-offs, and more. We are so grateful to neighbors who are organizing on the ground to protect our neighbors!

In addition, community activism has been effective in observing and reporting potential violations and connecting families with information about their loved ones who have been detained. If you want to know how to get involved, see below!

Calls to Action

There are so many ways you can get involved to help protect our neighbors!

As always: please continue speaking up for immigrant rights! Visit the CIRR Protecting Immigrant Rights page and Illinois Immigration Info to find out how you can get more involved.

The next immigration briefing is on Tuesday, November 18th at 1pm. Register at bit.ly/CIRRBriefing! 

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