Chicago Journalists Sign on to Letter

In a letter to the Chicago Tribune, a number of former Chicago broadcast veterans voiced their thoughts Federal immigration agents in the Windy City.

The Journalists claim that the agents have traumatized Chicago and eroded the rights of the citizens.

Here is the letter:

U.S. Border Patrol agents exchange handcuffs for plastic zip-ties while transferring detainees in Niles on Oct. 31, 2025. The detainees were picked up while they were landscaping on Chicago’s Northwest Side. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

You know us.

For years, you watched and listened to our coverage of the Chicago area. As journalists, we did our best to bring you accurate, objective information about the people, events and issues that mattered. We hope we gained your trust.

So please trust us now when we say that what is happening in the Chicago area is wrong. The fact that some federal immigration forces may be leaving soon is cold comfort given the damage they’ve done and what they may do in other cities.

We are retired, but our colleagues who are still on the job have shown you a brutal and illegal campaign against fellow Chicagoans, mainly Latinos: violent abductions, gutting families, using tear gas around children, roughing up witnesses, ramming cars and even taking a day care teacher from her school.

Let us be clear: We support the lawful apprehension and deportation of undocumented immigrants with criminal records. The president says he’s after the worst of the worst, but that’s not what’s happening. It’s gone way beyond that. People are presumed guilty until proven innocent. It is not law enforcement; it is terror.

This dragnet seems to be based on racism and is snaring citizens of color, documented immigrants and people who have committed no serious crimes — your neighbor, friend, co-worker, babysitter and landscaper.  People whose work ethic and honesty have contributed to the city for years.

A federal agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement points a weapon to keep the crowd back while agents briefly detained and then released a woman pulled from her car along West 26th Street on Nov. 8, 2025, in Cicero. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)If you believe in due process and the rule of law, you are likely to be alarmed. If you are a person of faith or believe in the unity of family, you are likely to be appalled.

None of us can do everything, but we all can do something. We urge you to support groups fighting for due process or who help immigrants during this siege. News organizations also need our financial support to continue their vital reporting.

We covered this city for a living and love it, and we want you to know that what’s happening here is not normal. It’s eroding all of our rights and should be a warning to other cities that find themselves enveloped in an ICE storm.

— Derrick Blakley, Kathy Brock, Chris Bury, Bill Cameron, Pat Cassidy, Lilia Chacon, Muriel Clair, John Cody, Janet Davies, Craig Dellimore, John Dempsey, Mark Giangreco, Theresa Gutierrez, Walter Jacobson, Robert Jordan, Sherman Kaplan, Anne Kavanagh, Rich King, Bill Kurtis, Alan Krashesky, Ron Magers, Carol Marin, Linda MacLennan, Paul Meincke, Steve Miller, Phil Ponce, Phil Rogers, Jim Rose, Rich Samuels, Steve Sanders, Andy Shaw, Tom Skilling, Rob Stafford, David Stewart, Jim Williams, Larry Yellen, Linda Yu and Pam Zekman