This week, ICE agents carried out arrests during routine check-ins in Chicago, sparking fear across immigrant communities. In response, residents in Pilsen gathered peacefully to protest—not with violence, but with unity and resolve.

These protests were powerful, legal, and deeply human. But now, there’s growing concern that peaceful demonstrations like this could be met with military force, just as they have been elsewhere.

Governor Pritzker has condemned the federal government’s unauthorized deployment of National Guard troops. Chicago residents should not have to fear ICE in their clinics and schools, and they should not have to fear armed troops at their protests.

Let’s be clear—immigration raids and military crackdowns do not make our communities safer. They silence voices, divide families, and erode trust.

Sign this petition to demand that local and federal officials keep ICE and the National Guard out of Chicago’s neighborhoods and protests. Peaceful protest is not a threat. It is a right.

[Photo Credit: Zubaer Khan/Sun-Times]