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3h ago

Chicago Activists, Officials Press Yards Plaza Owner to Bar ICE Operations

The push follows Mayor Brandon Johnson's order creating ICE-free city properties.

Standing in the rain near a reported Immigration and Customs Enforcement staging area, dozens of activists, elected officials and supporters hold, protest the ICE presence on the Southwest Side, at a news conference, in the Back of the Yards neighborhood in Chicago, Oct. 7, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
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Overview

  • Community leaders, rapid-response teams and Ald. Julia Ramirez gathered Tuesday outside Yards Plaza to demand Friedman Real Estate stop immigration agents from using the parking lot as a staging area.
  • Friedman Real Estate has not agreed to bar agents from the site and did not respond to requests for comment, organizers and local reports said.
  • Ramirez said she asked the company about two weeks ago to deny ICE access but was rebuffed, adding that managers objected to neighbors filming federal officers.
  • On Monday, Johnson signed executive orders prohibiting ICE from staging on city-owned land and offering signage and support for private owners who choose to restrict such activity.
  • Activists report repeated ICE use of the plaza and nearby lots as part of Operation Midway Blitz; ICE’s Chicago field director said the mission has led to more than 1,000 arrests since early September, prompting concerns near nearby schools.