Businesses catering to Black and Hispanic residents are side by side in the Austin section of the North Avenue corridor, a sign of shifting demographics. (Photos by Igor Studenkov/For Chronicle Media)   

Three days after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids swept through Chicago Northwest Side’s Hermosa neighborhood, the 25th Police District Council member Angelica Green didn’t mince words. 

Speaking at the start of the “Know Your Rights” workshop held Jan. 28 at Grace and Peace Church in the Austin community, she said the raids were “meant to cause chaos and meant to divide us.” 

“We put on this event because we believe that fear cannot divide us,” she said. “We will stay strong and organize. We hope that all of you leave tonight more empowered, more engaged and less afraid.” 

Green called for solidarity among the many racial and ethnic groups that live in the 25th District, which includes parts of Chicago’s West and Northwest sides. The statement was especially significant coming from the district council’s single Black member, one who hasn’t always been on the same page with Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration when it comes to how the city responds to migrants. 

Police district councils work with their local police districts and community organizations to help improve public safety. Green and fellow district council member Saul Arellano said that the “Know Your Rights” workshop and some other outreach they are planning further down the line fits within that mission.  

Chicago is divided into 22 police districts that can encompass anywhere from a part of the neighborhood to multiple neighborhoods. In 2021, the city council approved a package of police reforms that, among other things, created elected three-member councils for each district. Their primary role is to work with their local police districts and community organizations to improve policing and public safety. District councils were first elected in 2023.  

The 25th police district is one of the largest and the most demographically complex police districts in Chicago. Spanning parts of the city’s West and Northwest Sides, it includes the section of the Austin community north of Division Street, including the Galewood neighborhood, most of West Humboldt Park, all of Montclare, Belmont-Cragin and Hermosa, parts of Logan Square and small sections of Avondale and Dunning.  

While Logan Square and Avondale used to be majority Hispanic, gentrification over the past two decades caused the demographics to shift to slim white majorities. The demographics of neighborhoods further west, such as Belmont-Cragin and Montclare shifted to majority Hispanic as residents priced out of their homes looked for cheaper alternatives near their old communities. Even the north section of Austin, which has been majority Black since the 1970s, saw its Hispanic population increase in the 2010s.  

When Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bused asylum-seekers from Latin American countries to Chicago, the city sent them to police stations across the city, including in the 25th District police station. This led to some pushback. As Cook County Commissioner and Austin resident Tara Stamps, D-1st, previously told Chronicle Media that some Black residents resented the city for spending millions to aid the asylum-seekers. 

“We [still] have to fight so that our rights are protected and that our people get what they deserve,” Stamps said in a 2024 interview. “I think it’s why (seeing a group that aren’t citizens of United States getting help) is particularly raw and sensitive.” 

When, in October 2023, the city considered using a fieldhouse in North Austin’s Amundsen Park to house asylum-seekers, a group of residents that included Green protested. She said at the time that she had no issue with asylum-seekers being housed — she just didn’t want it to come at the expense of the many programs the park hosts. Johnson ended up dropping the plan as the number of bused migrants declined. 

According to Block Club Chicago, Hermosa was one of the several majority-Hispanic neighborhoods that saw immigration raids on Jan. 26. While the official goal of Operation Safeguard was to go after criminals, some immigrants who had no criminal record other than being in the country illegally were swept up as “collateral capture.” 

Green said that she reached out to multiple organizations throughout the 25th District to try to organize a “Know Your Rights” workshop, and she was pleasantly surprised to see how many responded. According to the event flyer, supporters included several immigrant advocacy organizations, and city and state elected officials, including Ald. Emma Mitts, 37th Ward, a major figure in West Side Black politics.  

While she acknowledged that African Americans “had different opinions,” the issue was clear-cut to her. 

“My opinion, as a Christian, is these are all our brothers and sisters,” Green said. “And, as a Black woman, this is [about] all of our rights. In my opinion, [Trump] wants a dictatorship, so we had to move fast.” 

The issue is personal for Arellano. In August 2006, his mother, Elvira Arellano, then an undocumented immigrant, sought sanctuary in a Logan Square church to try to avoid being deported and separated from then-7-year-old Saul because he is a U.S. citizen. Elvira Arrellano was eventually able to obtain legal status.  

The workshop, which had an in-person and a virtual component, went over the rights immigrants had under the federal law, what kind of information they should and shouldn’t provide and address some practical questions, such as what happens to their bank accounts.  

In a CNN interview a day before the workshop, Trump’s hand-picked “border czar” Tom Homan complained that these kinds of events are “making it very difficult” to arrest people and denounced them as “how to escape arrest” workshops.  

Arellano said that the district has already been doing workshops such as “Stop the Bleeding” first-aid workshop to teach residents skills to keep residents safe. A workshop about rights, he argued, was no different.  

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re a U.S. citizen or not — we are the country that has laws, and those laws must be respected,” he said. 

Green said she has no issue with ICE arresting immigrants with criminal records. 

“When it comes to criminals and people who are wreaking havoc, I don’t care what color they are,” he said. “If you’re not a criminal — leave those people alone.” 

Green and Arellano said that the district council is considering other outreach to support immigrants, regardless of their status. Mindful that many immigrants, even the ones who came to United States legally, are afraid of getting swept up in the raids, the council has been discussing setting up grocery deliveries and holding virtual workshops. They are also discussing setting up a “rapid response” taskforce to provide resources to families where someone has been detained.  

Arellano said that they haven’t seen any pushback from anywhere in the district. 

“I think we haven’t gotten any pushback because of how great Chicago is,” he said. “And seeing the solidarity between communities has been great.” 

Green noted that the issue goes far beyond the Mexican community, noting that immigrants from Haiti and some African countries may be affected as well.  

“A lot of the time, we wait until these things affect you indirectly,” she said. “You should feel the way the person is feeling. We need to have empathy.”