Chicago organizers have implemented a swath of strategies to resist efforts from Ice, responses rooted in collaboration between organizations that have been in place dating back to the first Trump administration. OCAD holds regular community meetings with its clients to educate on the near-daily changes in Trump’s anti-immigration tactics, with meetings now occurring bimonthly. OCAD and other collaborators also oversee rapid-response groups that monitor Ice activity.

As demand for services increases, volunteer interest has also surged, another product of Chicago’s activism culture. Volunteer interest in anti-deportation efforts has increased by 300% since 2024, Gutierrez noted: there are now more than 400 volunteers working in 27 neighborhood response groups. But there was still “definitely a strong sense of fear” among immigrants in Chicago as Trump threatens to ramp up deportations, said Gutierrez. OCAD’s hotline, which handles calls for Ice sightings and other immigrant-related questions, has seen an increase from five calls a month last year to more than 100 each day in the weeks following Trump’s inauguration. Now, the hotline averages about 50 calls a week. Beyond deportation, immigrants across ethnicities have expressed concern about Trump’s attacks on green-card holders, birthright citizenship or overall delays in visas, several advocacy groups said.

Even with its robust organization efforts, Chicago immigrant advocacy groups have still faced considerable challenges. Conservative city council members attempted to change Chicago’s sanctuary city status in January, allowing police to collaborate with Ice in certain circumstances; Illinois Republican state legislators have tried to implement similar laws. Such attempts have failed.