On Friday, top Chicago Public Schools officials announced that agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement had arrived at a Southwest Side elementary school. The announcement caused widespread panic. It was many Chicagoans’ worst fears realized — that not even our kids — or our schools — are safe from the president’s promised immigration crackdown.
But it wasn’t true.
ICE was never at the school. The officials who visited Hamline Elementary School were from the Secret Service. CPS officials changed their message, calling the mistake a “misunderstanding, reflective of the fear and concerns in the community amid the new administration’s focus on undocumented immigrants.”
It was too late by then. Politicians, including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, U.S. Rep. Sean Casten and others, and multiple media outlets, including our own newspaper, ran with the story.
After CPS acknowledged its mistake, Mayor Brandon Johnson tweeted that it’s “imperative that individuals not spread unverified information that sparks fear across the city.” We would give the mayor credit for this appropriate reaction, but he quickly deleted the tweet.
Still, that’s the right sentiment. At a time when tensions are so high, and both sides seem ready to believe the worst about those standing opposite them, the margin for error is slim. People who despise Trump jumped to the conclusion that immigration agents were knocking down doors at elementary schools. People who despise Chicago and its politics pounced on the error, calling it the “latest anti-Trump hoax.”
To some extent, the CPS error is understandable given the climate of fear. But we need to be honest about the havoc this mistake wreaked on this city and do better next time. Before CPS — or anyone in authority — makes a statement, they need to be certain that what they’re saying is accurate. This debacle also shows that journalists can’t expect that everything CPS or other agencies say in the heat of the moment is correct. People need timely information in this charged climate, but right now we think it’s imperative the facts be accurate.
The public also needs proactive communication to eliminate the fear that derives from uncertainty. Right now, people are getting piecemeal information. Federal agents are posting constantly. ICE issued a statement Sunday confirming that it had begun taking “targeted” action in Chicago and across the country. The agency even embedded TV personalities and a small group of national journalists deemed friendly in livestreamed raids. At least one local reporter asked for access but was stonewalled.
Reports abound on X of agents picking up people with shocking criminal records, including one man with a history of sex crimes against children. But reports also abound of people living in fear. People hiding in attics. People afraid to go to work. That’s no way for a nation to function.
Local elected officials understandably have been in largely a reactive position thus far, but as the shock of the administration’s aggressive tactics begins to wear off, they should prioritize clear communication with the feds. We need them to speak not just to us, but for us, and to act in the best interests of all. For example, can ICE commit that it won’t be invading schools during the school day? A prudent move for local and state leaders right now would be to seek such assurances (without thundering away on X or some other social media platform) and then determine with the administration an appropriate way to inform the public.
The feds may not be open to that, but that doesn’t mean local and state pols shouldn’t try.
Pritzker, for his part, has indicated support for an approach limited to removing violent criminals who are undocumented. “If that’s who they’re picking up, we’re all for it,” he said. The governor continues to decry any efforts to deport undocumented residents who are otherwise law-abiding and vowed to “stand in the way” of such efforts.
Johnson, on the other hand, took to X on Sunday night to assure Chicago that the Police Department had nothing to do with the raids, but the tone of his message gave the impression he didn’t have any information from federal agencies, as if he were hearing reports of these activities at the same time as the general public. That does not inspire confidence.
There’s another way to do this: Instead of turning raids into a livestreamed spectacle, ICE should do its work and then share with the public who was deported and why. ICE should also be providing solid information to local media and elected officials. Border and enforcement czar Tom Homan should speak to local media.
“Misinformation deepens division and distracts from the solutions we desperately need to move forward. What we say matters — sometimes just as much as what we do. Getting it first isn’t as important as getting it right,” state Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, said on X.
The ICE enforcement actions are here, and they’ll be continuing — in Chicago and across the country. Homan has said ICE is “going to arrest public safety threats” and has indicated that he intends these efforts to be limited in scope. ICE reportedly made 956 arrests nationwide Sunday — we’re not sure how many of those took place in Chicago. Particularly if ICE is going to make a televised spectacle out of its arrests, the least it could do is provide such information, and do it regularly.
This is a highly stressful moment for many cities and counties across the U.S. Both the Trump administration and local and state authorities must do more to squelch the anxiety overtaking entire communities.
— Chicago Tribune via TNS
