ICE Agents Spotted by Lake Shore Students

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been sighted in more than 10 locations around Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus over the course of the last two weeks.  

The push to increase the federal agents’ presence is part of a city-wide initiative created by the Trump administration — “Operation Midway Blitz” — designed to target “criminal illegal aliens,” The Phoenix reported. The operation was announced Sept. 8. 

Third-year nursing major Evelyn Hart said she witnessed the ICE encounter in the 1200 block of West North Shore Avenue behind Bellarmine Hall Oct. 12. 

“I was letting my mom get into her Uber from the hotel, and we saw this car drive down the street and two guys in the car started blowing whistles really loud,” Hart said. “We were all like, ‘What is this? What is happening?’ They started screaming ‘ICE, ICE,’ but then they turned down the street.”

Hart said she witnessed residents in the area come out of their apartments to see what was happening. She said the experience was incredibly jarring. 

“We ended up seeing a bunch of people run down the alleyway, and it was literally one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever seen,” Hart said. “It was just people being surrounded by — and held at gunpoint — and they were screaming at everyone around, ‘Back up, get down.’ It was truly so frightening that my mom started crying on the spot, and I was like, ‘Just get in your Uber, get to the airport, it’s fine.’”

Hart said there were about five or six agents — dressed in agent gear but driving in an unmarked car — involved in the altercation. She said she saw about three civilians being targeted and an additional 10 observers surrounding the agents. The entire event lasted only about five minutes, according to Hart. 

Hart said the experience changed her perspective on the things she had been seeing in the media. 

“I think it’s so terrifying,” Hart said. “It felt so dystopian and frightening to actually see what you’re looking at on the news all the time — to see it in person is such a different experience.”

Sara Zelaya, a second-year biology major, said she lives in Bellarmine Hall, near where ICE agents were spotted Oct. 12. She said although she didn’t witness the altercation personally, her roommate informed her of it when she came home. 

Zelaya, who is a citizen of Honduras but is here on a student visa, said the activity of the federal agents in the area can be nervewracking.

“It’s honestly a little scary because, personally, I’m an international student,” Zelaya said. “I don’t really think Trump wants international students that much here right now.” 

Generally, Zelaya said she doesn’t think ICE should be taking the actions they are.  

“Why are they here?” Zelaya said. “It’s really bad because there’s a lot of people that don’t deserve anything that’s happening — like getting taken.”

A Loyola spokesperson said the university is aware of the situation and wants to provide students with resources to stay safe. They said if students observe ICE activity on campus, they should call Campus Safety at 773-508-SAFE (7233). Vice President for Student Development Keith Champagne shared a list of additional resources in a Sept. 9 email to the Loyola community.

“The University is closely monitoring the situation and understands the concern this may cause,” a spokesperson wrote in an email to The Phoenix. “We are committed to being a space of respect and care and will continue to share relevant resources to support our community.”

Keri Carlston, a second-year molecular biology major, said she has heard a lot of stories about ICE being in Chicago both from news sources and from Fizz. She said although social media is a good way to get information to students quickly, she thinks it’s sometimes misused to share “rage bait.” 

“You just have to kind of check multiple sources,” Carlston said. “Don’t believe everything you read online, but there might be some truth to it.”

Carlston said she doesn’t like ICE being in the Chicago area, much less Rogers Park. 

“It’s just very close to home now,” Carlston said. “Before, you could — this sounds very privileged of me but — you could kind of push it to the back of your mind. But now that it’s right here confronting you, it’s like, “Oh, yes, this is happening.’ There are things that need to be done about this.”

Carlston said she thinks the university is doing the best they can by reminding students of their rights on campus property. 

Tami Govrin, a first-year law student in the Loyola School of Law, said she has mostly heard about ICE activity in the downtown area — where she lives and studies — through social media posts from news organizations. 

Govrin — who is Latina and whose parents are immigrants — said it can be scary to see so much activity from federal agents across the country, even though her parents both came here legally and have been citizens for 22 years. 

“It’s still a little nervewracking,” Govrin said. “Even just being from outside of the country and seeing ICE running around and kind of grabbing whoever they decide to,” 
For more information on the locations where ICE agents have been seen in the area, visit The Loyola Phoenix website or view The Phoenix’s ICE Tracking Map.

Editors note: This article was updated Nov. 4 to improve paraphrasing of a quote.