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Chicago Advocates Concerned About Racial Profiling After Supreme Court’s Ruling on Immigration Raids

(Fintan Trimble / iStock)

A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, which makes it easier for federal immigration agents to use ethnicity as a factor in deportations, is raising concerns about racial profiling in federal law enforcement as immigration raids ramp up. But locally, advocates said discriminatory policing is nothing new. They believe the Chicago Police Department has a history of disproportionately targeting Black and Latino people in shootings, traffic stops, arrests and more. And some advocates worry the high court’s ruling could potentially impact local policing.

What local experts and activists say: 

Raff Donelson, a law and criminology professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law, said the ruling shouldn’t change much for how immigration offenses are handled in the city because of local laws preventing cooperation between federal immigration authorities and the police. However, the decision leaves open the possibility for federal, state and local law enforcement to use race as a factor in investigating other crimes not related to immigration.

“If there are some other reasons why state enforcement might think that evidence about ancestry or race is relevant to other crimes not in some immigration-related stuff — the Supreme Court has given its blessing,” Donelson said.

“The Supreme Court’s decision is an extension of the bending of the constitutional rights that we have, searching for loopholes that has been done for years and years,” Loren Jones, director of criminal legal systems at Impact for Equity, said. “This sort of narrows and weakens constitutional rights in the face of policing.” 

Jones said that Black and Latino people continue to be disproportionately targeted by police through actions like uses of force and traffic stops despite efforts to combat racial profiling through the consent decree.

Jasmine Smith, an organizer with Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said she’s experienced and witnessed several instances of racial profiling in her community, such as wrongful convictions and pretextual traffic stops.

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, Black people made up 45% of traffic stops by CPD in 2024 but account for 31% of Chicago’s population. Latinos made up 35% of all traffic stops by CPD compared to being 29% of the city population. That’s compared to White people making up 15% of stops while being 33% of the population.

Spotted Lanternfly Sightings Are on the Rise in Chicago. Here’s the Latest on the Invasive Pest

A spotted lanternfly reported on the 56th floor of a Chicago skyscraper (l); one of the invasive bugs with its telltale spots. (Credits: Illinois Department of Agriculture; Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

The invasive spotted lanternfly appears to be making inroads in Chicago, two years after the pest was first confirmed in Illinois. So far, there have been more reports of the bug in September 2025 alone than there were in all of 2024, according to Scott Schirmer, section manager of the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s Nursery and Northern Field Office.

“It’s really ramped up in the last two weeks,” Schirmer told WTTW News. “Right now, all the adults are out and about. And when they’re adults, their main purpose in life is to eat and store energy to reproduce and lay eggs.”

Following the initial 2023 sighting in Fuller Park — an area sandwiched between Bronzeville to the east and Back of the Yards to the west — the neighborhood has remained the epicenter of the infestation, with Hyde Park another hot spot. Lanternflies are also moving into south and west suburbs, including Cicero, Berwyn, Oak Park, River Forest, Oak Lawn and Evergreen Park, Schirmer said.

What can you do? 

The University of Illinois is collecting reports of sightings and collaborating with the Department of Agriculture on analyzing data and trends. Officials are urging people to continue sending photos of spotted lanternfly, along with the location, to lanternfly@illinois.edu. This includes reports of adults, nymphs and eggs. And then squash the bugs dead.

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Broadview Officials Say ICE Waging ‘Disinformation Campaign’ Amid Protests as Local Officers ‘Shell Shocked’

Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility officers stand guard outside an ICE facility in Broadview, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (Anthony Vazquez/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

The mayor of suburban Broadview said her constituents are “begging for relief” from federal immigration agents who have placed residents and first responders in danger by their use of tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets against protesters.

Mayor Katrina Thompson on Tuesday accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials of waging a “disinformation campaign” amid their continued use of chemical and less-lethal munitions directed at crowds outside the agency’s Broadview processing center.

“It all has to stop,” she said during a press conference alongside other Broadview leaders. “ICE has to stop putting our residents, our police officers, our first responders and American citizens in harm’s way.”

Broadview officials claimed the ICE facility and its personnel have put a tremendous strain on the village community. Village officials have claimed Broadview police officers have been forced out of action while they recover from their exposure to ICE’s tear gas, while firefighters, first responders and other ambulance personnel have also been exposed.

Police Chief Thomas Mills said his officers — many of whom are working their first ever job in law enforcement — have been “shell shocked” by the confrontations. He said he’s been on calls with officers as they were “literally choking” from the gas as they attempted to explain what was going on.

More from WTTW News: 

• Harrison Ford is one of the most famous people on the planet. David Willard has spent a career and his retirement cataloguing dead birds. Both will be recognized as conservation superstars during the upcoming Half-Earth Day event scheduled for Oct. 29 at the Field Museum.

Back in the Day: October 1, 1892 - University of Chicago’s First Day of Classes

The University of Chicago was established in 1890, using land donated by department store entrepreneur Marshall Field as well as donations totaling $1 million from the American Baptist Education Society and John D. Rockefeller. On this day 132 years ago — Oct. 1, 1892 — the Hyde Park institution held its first-ever day of classes. Under President Dr. William D. Rainey, the inaugural year had an enrollment of 594 students. One of the Midwest’s first universities, it took cues from undergraduate institutions like Oxford and graduate studies research facilities in Germany. The century plus since its doors first opened in Hyde Park has been one of expansion, growth and pioneering research. This year, it ranked sixth in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 list.

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Chicago-Area Live Music Recommendations for Oct. 1-7

Each Wednesday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more.

Wednesday, Oct. 1 
Makaya McCraven, Tom Skinner at Thalia Hall. Tickets.
The boundary-pushing Chicago jazz drummer enlists an English artist who’s played with Sons of Kemet and The Smile as an opener. 

Thursday, Oct. 2
Laura Stevenson, Oceanator, Katie Malco at Schubas. Tickets.
A night of understated and excellent songwriting in Lakeview. 

Friday, Oct. 3: 
Ribbon Skirt, Godstar Megamix at Color Club. Tickets.
The Montreal indie rock duo’s debut album received high marks from publications like Pitchfork. 

Saturday, Oct. 4: 
The Psychedelic Furs, Gary Numan at the Auditorium Theatre. Tickets.
English rock royalty team up downtown. 

Bitchin Bajas, Jeremiah Chiu and Marta Sofia Honer at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
The Chicago experimental band just released a hypnotic LP called “Inland See.” 

Sunday, Oct. 5: 
Air at Auditorium Theatre. Tickets.
The French experimentalists will play their debut album “Moon Safari” in full. 

Os Mutantes, Rudy De Anda at Garcia's. Tickets.
The long-running group will play Chicago’s newest small venue. 

Bob Mould (in conversation with Greg Kot) at Old Town School of Folk. Tickets.
After the interview, the Hüsker Dü and Sugar frontman will play a solo electric set. 

Monday, Oct. 6: 
Ellie Ruth, Shoulderbird, Aunt Kelly at Hideout. Tickets.
A night of winsome folk and intimate songwriting. 

Tuesday, Oct. 7: 
Far Caspian, A Beacon School. Tickets.
This Irish songwriter makes atmospheric and dreamlike rock songs. 

Grandaddy, Greg Freeman at Thalia Hall. TIckets.
The Vermont-based opener has an album of the year contender in the searing rock LP “Burnover.” 

What's the best steakhouse in the Chicago area? Tell us where and why. 

Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.

• Chicago alderpeople debate priorities for the city's budget.

5:30 PM | 10:00 PM

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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry