Late Sunday morning on Oct. 12, federal immigration enforcement agents detained two people outside the Home Depot on Oakton Street. The incident was captured on video and quickly shared across Evanston. Alerts from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights confirmed the detentions, which the group described as “verified” around 10:30 a.m. The Evanston RoundTable first broke the story and published photos from the scene.
For many Evanston residents, the sight of ICE officers outside a neighborhood hardware store was jarring. The visit, however, followed prior warnings from city officials about increased federal immigration activity. In early September, city officials warned that federal immigration agents, including officers brought in from Texas, had been deployed to the Chicago region as part of a Department of Homeland Security initiative called Operation Midway Blitz. The city emphasized that “In Evanston, we welcome our immigrant and refugee neighbors and protect each other.”
At Evanston Township High School, Superintendent Marcus Campbell said the district is taking every possible step to keep students safe while staying within the limits of federal law. He said administrators are ready to close campus if ICE activity occurs nearby and are coordinating with city officials to respond quickly. Campbell expressed frustration and disappointment with the federal government’s actions but said the district remains committed to protecting students and standing by its values.
“It’s really scary, because we have no power once kids go home,” Campbell told The Evanstonian. “But during the school day, we can make sure they’re safe and that no one walks into this building without a judicial warrant.”
Campbell also explained that ETHS intentionally refrains from collecting data on students’ citizenship status. The policy is designed to ensure the school cannot be compelled, legally or otherwise, to disclose information it does not possess.
By Monday evening, Oct. 13, demonstrators had gathered at the same Home Depot to protest both the detentions and the broader federal enforcement surge. Chants and car horns filled the Oakton Street parking lot as residents held signs reading “No ICE in Evanston” and “Community, Not Cages.”
“It’s just disgusting that our government is abducting law-abiding people,” one protester told the RoundTable.
The Evanston protest followed weeks of unrest across the Chicago area. On Friday, Sept. 19, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss joined demonstrators outside the ICE processing facility in Broadview, where agents used tear gas and pepper spray during a confrontation with protesters. Biss later said he “just couldn’t breathe at all” and called the experience “terrifying.” He accused federal agents of photographing protesters and placing snipers on nearby rooftops to intimidate the crowd. Federal officials, meanwhile, defended their response and criticized elected leaders for joining protests.
In Evanston, the fallout from Operation Midway Blitz has quickly become a political and moral question. With budget season underway, the city released its proposed 2026 budget earlier this month. Embedded in those discussions is a new idea gaining momentum: declaring parts of Evanston “ICE-free zones.” The framework, raised by several council members, would limit city cooperation with civil immigration enforcement and mark certain public spaces such as libraries, parks and community centers as off limits for immigration operations.
How these “ICE-free zones” would work, however, remains uncertain. Council members have asked whether such a policy could be legally enforced, how city employees would be trained and whether Evanston could face pushback from the state or federal government. Illinois law already restricts local cooperation with federal civil immigration enforcement, and federal law continues to govern the actions of ICE agents themselves. That leaves only a narrow path for cities to create additional protections, mostly through how staff respond to federal requests and how public spaces are managed.
Just hours after the ICE arrests at Home Depot on Sunday, Oct. 12, community organizations held a “People’s Defense Workshop” at Lovelace Park to help residents understand their rights and prepare for possible encounters with immigration officers. Organizers explained the difference between judicial and administrative warrants and how to respond if federal agents appear at a residence or business. Local media estimated that several hundred people attended, underscoring the level of fear and confusion in the community.
The anxiety reached local youth programs as well. The Evanston chapter of AYSO, a popular youth soccer league, cancelled all games at James Park on Sunday, Oct. 12, citing the proximity of ICE activity. In an email to families, the board wrote, “There are at least 6 ICE vans at Home Depot. We do not want the children to witness inhumane treatment.” The board encouraged coaches to postpone games or hold joint practices later in the season, saying the decision was made to “not jeopardize the safety of our community in any way at the expense of playing a soccer game.”
Meanwhile, several PTA parents across District 65 elementary and middle schools have begun organizing informal driving networks for undocumented residents. While details remain limited, the effort is intended to help families feel safer traveling to and from schools or grocery stores, particularly when fears of immigration enforcement are heightened. Because the PTA is a volunteer organization and not a government body, parents say they can act more flexibly than the schools themselves, which are bound by legal restrictions.
As of Tuesday, Oct. 14, federal officials had not released any further details about the individuals detained in Evanston. The Evanston Police Department confirmed that it had no involvement in the arrests.
City Council is expected to continue budget hearings and public comment later this month, with any “ICE-free zone” proposal likely to move through committee before a full vote.
For Evanston, the detentions have reopened an uncomfortable question: what does it mean to call yourself a “welcoming city” when federal power operates beyond local control? The answers may come slowly, through council meetings and neighborhood workshops, but the urgency is already being felt. In homes, classrooms and workplaces, residents are once again being reminded that national politics do not stop at the city line.
As debates continue, Evanston faces a difficult balance. For many residents, especially immigrant families, fear and uncertainty have become part of daily life. For city officials and public institutions like ETHS, the task now is to act with empathy while taking a pragmatic approach to what the law allows. Schools and departments are legally limited in how they can respond to federal enforcement, but they can still make clear that every student and family deserves safety and respect.
Evanston’s challenge is not only legal but moral: to remain a community that protects its own even when national policy makes that harder. The city’s next steps will show whether its values can hold up under pressure and whether compassion can be more than just a statement on paper.
