Immigrant Rights Groups Launch Statewide Anti-ICE Campaign

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights kicked off their 2026 policy platform during their annual summit, titled “Radical Love, Resistance and Resilience.” Dozens of neighborhood and advocacy groups joined the rally to push back against what organizers called escalating enforcement activities targeting communities of color.

“The power is in our hands that we are the ones that have to step up, get up and defend your rights,” said summit attendee Sugeira Tellez, a Chicago area resident.

ICIRR Executive Director Lawrence Benito tied the campaign to broader immigration enforcement patterns across multiple states.

“Over the past year, we’ve seen how the Trump administration attacks our communities on a daily basis, whether in Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina or in cities and towns across the country,” Benito said.

Advocates described the daily impact of federal enforcement on local students and families. Andrew De Las Alas, suburban youth program coordinator at the HANA Center, painted a stark picture of the climate facing immigrant communities.

“HANA students share videos of ice goose stepping down the same streets they take to school,” De Las Alas said. “Their parents carry passports so they can prove their citizenship. And nearly every week, I hear about a neighbor or a student who has been taken or forced to self deport.”

The coalition’s policy demands center on three main areas: funding immigrant services, protecting Illinois residents’ data from ICE and other federal agencies, and strengthening the Illinois TRUST Act. The state law currently prohibits local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration actions.

State Rep. Dagmara Avelar, a Democrat representing District 85, framed the campaign as part of Illinois’ resistance to federal immigration policies.

“We know that Black and brown communities will be hit first and hardest,” Avelar said. “That’s not an accident. That’s the design. But here’s what we know, Illinois is not Washington.”

Organizers said the rally reaffirms their commitment to abolish ICE and defeat the Trump administration’s immigration agenda through state-level policy changes.