In this emergency episode, Francia Garcia Hernandez, a reporter for Block Club Chicago, joined me as a guest, focusing on the seismic impact of recent ICE raids across the city.

Francia shares her on-the-ground reporting, giving us a clear view of how these raids affect Chicago’s vibrant Latino communities and the real-world consequences for local, family-owned small businesses.

In this episode, you will learn about:

• The Climate of Fear: What it feels like on the ground in neighborhoods under the threat of enforcement, and how that uncertainty translates into daily life for residents and families.

• The CPD Question: The growing and uncertain role of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) as perceived by community members and leaders, and why this relationship with ICE is a major concern for local advocacy groups.

• Economic Impact: How the raids are creating a ripple effect, specifically hitting the revenue and stability of small businesses in the coverage area.

• The Institutional Response: How schools, local institutions, and the City of Chicago have stepped up—or fallen short—in their response to protect residents.

• Community Resilience: Stories of how community members are working together to protect one another, from setting up rapid response networks to providing legal and social support.

• Protection of local journalists: What Francia and her fellow journalist colleagues have experienced with the raids, the attack on her colleagues and the WGN producer who was forcibly detained, and how they are protecting themselves in their work.

This is essential listening to understand the dynamics at play in Chicago’s immigrant communities right now.

Connect with Francia Garcia Hernandez:

• Read her work at: Block Club Chicago

• Instagram: francia_garciah

To report any ICE activities caught on video, please send them to:

tinyurl.com/chicagojournalists