Chicago in Uproar: ICE Crackdown Targets Rideshare Drivers, Igniting Citywide Protests

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In Chicago, tensions escalated on Thursday following the circulation of videos depicting federal immigration officers detaining rideshare drivers. These clips, rapidly shared and viewed across social media, have stirred significant public concern and debate.

The situation came to a head on Saturday when Border Patrol agents arrested 11 rideshare drivers at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, as reported by CBS News. The U.S. Border Patrol’s commander-at-large, Gregory Bovino, took to social media to confirm the operation, stating, “We arrested dozens of illegal alien rideshare operators taking jobs from American citizens out there last week. More to come.”

These arrests have unearthed a complex dialogue around immigration policies and their impact on local communities. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the detained drivers were found to have either criminal records, had overstayed their visas, or were under a final order of removal from the United States.

Lori Simmons, a key figure with the People’s Lobby, a nonprofit organization that advocates for rideshare drivers, has voiced strong opposition to these actions. Simmons and others argue that such measures unfairly target immigrant communities and disrupt the lives of many who are contributing to the local economy.

“These people are at work. It’s not like they came and got them from a robbery that they were committing,” Simmons told . “They were sitting in a parking lot waiting to do their job.”

As a rideshare driver herself, Simmons said the arrests have made her wary about heading out to work every day.

“I mean, it’s really been a chilling effect on the community,” she said. “A lot of drivers are terrified to even leave the house. I mean, not alone. Just being attacked in the lot, but also, we’ve seen yesterday there were drivers that were actually pulled over and taken from their vehicles.”

Simmons said it would be difficult for agents to know exactly who they are targeting, as drivers cannot sign up for ridesharing services like Uber without documentation. However, she said a lack of regulation in the industry needs to be addressed.

“I think everybody should know who their driver is, and that is a policy that the rideshare companies could institute if they wanted to make some changes,” Simmons said. “I mean, if you want to think about, what is being undocumented? It’s not a criminal offense, it’s a civil offense. So, we’re basically hunting these people down, chasing them down in this parking lot for what is, like, a ticket. It’s unconscionable.”