"Along with jujitsu and muay thai, Elias Cepeda offers anti-bullying and self-defense classes in his mixed martial arts gym.
In recent weeks, he and his students have expanded that mission, trying to counter an intense immigration crackdown by the Trump administration in their mostly Latino, working-class neighborhood.
They watch for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers during school pickup and drop-off, shuttle food to neighbors afraid to leave homes and, toward the end of the day, buy the last remaining tamales and paletas so street vendors in Pilsen can head back safely indoors.
'We’ve had major mission creep the last year and a half,' said Cepeda, a veteran activist and executive director of the nonprofit Pilsen Defense and Access."
~ Kim Bellware, Ben Strauss and María Luisa Paúl
"Chicagoans band together..."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/10/23/ice-chicago-resistance-immigrants/
"The administration’s Operation Midway Blitz, launched last month, brought an influx of federal officers to the nation’s third-largest city — one long shaped by immigrants, with a surge of newcomers in recent years. The agents have so far made more than 1,500 arrests in Illinois, according to the Department of Homeland Security — part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
Though officials have portrayed the operation as targeting 'the worst' criminals, the effort has also swept up U.S. citizens, longtime Chicago residents and immigrants with pending asylum cases or protections that would typically shield them from deportation. The administration’s tactics — deploying tear gas, making arrests in broad daylight as immigrants work, attend school or go about their daily routines — have prompted residents from a variety of backgrounds to mount a forceful pushback."
~ Kim Bellware, Ben Strauss and María Luisa Paúl
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