Good morning. Here’s the latest news.
We have more on those stories below. But first, a look at the government’s immigration crackdown in Chicago, and how residents are responding.
Chicago crackdown
During a recent run near Lake Michigan, I watched a black S.U.V. make a U-turn and chase down three young men. Two armed immigration agents, their eyes peeking out from behind their balaclavas, jumped out and approached them. One asked what visas they held. “H-1B,” they responded, looking bewildered. That’s the visa for foreign workers with special expertise. Nothing that I could see would have attracted the attention of the agents, except for the fact that the men had brown skin. After questioning them, the agents let them go. This scene is now unfolding across Chicago every day. Federal immigration agents have been asking people about their legal status outside churches, homeless shelters, apartment buildings, parks and even a cemetery. Officers have questioned both U.S. citizens and legal residents, asking for passports and visas as proof of identity. The presence of officers from Border Patrol and ICE has brought forth an intense backlash. Chicagoans are shouting at immigration agents, calling them fascists and Nazis, throwing objects at them and chasing their unmarked S.U.V.s or minivans, honking their horns to warn bystanders of ICE’s presence. In response to what a Homeland Security official called “a surge in assaults,” the officers are using increasingly aggressive tactics. In recent days, they’ve hurled tear gas, pepper balls and smoke bombs at the public, protesters, journalists and even Chicago police officers, often without warning. Today’s newsletter is about the conflict on the streets of Chicago. The intervention
The Trump administration began a crackdown on illegal immigration here five weeks ago, promising to help the city by arresting “criminal illegal aliens.” But the tactics are unusual. Schools. Officers are lingering just off campus in some places. So principals have ordered “soft lockdowns,” keeping students in classrooms until the agents are gone. Last month, ICE tried to arrest a father after a day care drop-off; in the confrontation, he was shot and killed. Now some schools use neighborhood volunteers, at parents’ request, so white adults can walk Latino children home. Restaurants. Kitchens are often staffed by undocumented immigrants, and ICE knows it. Workers are afraid to leave their homes, and many have cut their hours. One Mexican spot I like keeps its door locked — even when it’s open — as a shield against ICE, allowing customers in one at a time. Public spaces. Many people, even those with legal status, are asking friends to do their grocery shopping for them. Streets are quieter. One man with legal residency got a $130 ticket for not having his papers, The Chicago Tribune reported. Why here? It is not surprising to people here that the administration has focused on Chicago, which calls itself a sanctuary city. That means it doesn’t help the federal government deport undocumented immigrants. Half a million Chicagoans, nearly one-fifth of the population, were born outside the United States, and support for immigrants is generally strong in the area. Local police officers won’t ask suspects about their immigration status. Trump and Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois, a Democrat, have an adversarial relationship, and Trump regularly criticizes Chicago’s Democratic mayor, Brandon Johnson. The president wrote online that they “should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers!” City and state leaders said they were receiving no communication from the Department of Homeland Security or the White House about the operations. The backlash
The fury over immigration enforcement has expanded in the last few days. After a car chase and crash involving agents, more than 100 people came out of their homes and shouted, “ICE go home.” At least one person threw eggs at the agents, hitting an agent directly in the head. (Trump ordered National Guard troops into Illinois over Pritzker’s objections, but a federal judge blocked their deployment last week.) In response, federal officers released tear gas on the crowd, including 13 Chicago police officers who had been called to the scene. For weeks, Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have disbursed people filming and shouting at them by shooting pepper balls and tear gas. This is very different from norms of modern policing: Officers typically release chemical agents only in extreme situations, and only after warnings. Agents have pointed guns at people who get in their way. On Wednesday, Pritzker complained that ICE was causing “mayhem” and warned that other cities would face the same fate. In the Oval Office yesterday, Trump named San Francisco. He said, “We’re just at the start. We’re going to go into other cities.”
No dictator rules alone. For two decades, and amid a 13-year civil war that left half a million people dead, the Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad relied on a network of henchmen to support his rule, writes Christiaan Triebert, a reporter on our Visual Investigations team. These men tortured civilians. They built and used chemical weapons. They ran drugs that helped fund the government. They ordered the bombing of hospitals. And when the regime fell in December 2024, many of them simply vanished. My colleagues and I set out to uncover evidence of their alleged crimes and find out where they might be now — in Russia, for instance, or plotting revenge from Lebanon. We chased down fragments of information — a photo of a lavish Damascus home posted to a neighborhood Facebook page, the name of a small village mentioned in a sanctions document, a phone number with a Russian country code discreetly shared with reporters — and added the normal journalistic legwork of reading legal filings, knocking on doors, calling people’s friends, family and co-workers. Read about how the officials got out, including the middle-of-the-night flight that carried many of them away. Related: Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Shara, just met with Vladimir Putin. Putin backed the regime al-Shara’s rebels overthrew.
Voting Rights Act
Immigration
Venezuela
War in Gaza
More International News
Other Big Stories
The autism spectrum is too broad. We need more specific diagnoses, Emily May writes. Here is a column by Nicholas Kristof on Trump’s Middle East win. And M. Gessen profiled Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories. Morning readers: Save on the complete Times experience. Experience all of The Times, all in one subscription — all with this introductory offer. You’ll gain unlimited access to news and analysis, plus games, recipes, product reviews and more.
Chicago rat hole: This rodent-shaped hole in the sidewalk is famous. But it wasn’t made by a rat. Wesley Morris on D’Angelo: “Many great singers aim for the stratosphere. His vocals pooled around you. He multiplied himself and blanketed you with his devastating stank.” Read more. Modern Love: Malala Yousafzai talks about her new memoir on the podcast. |
