Look At All These Rumors: ICE Everywhere and Nowhere

Threats of ICE raids have yet to materialize.

On the first week of Trump’s term in office, with fears of “mass deportations,” I spent the last few days chasing down rumors of ICE in Urbana-Champaign and the surrounding area.

ICE was rumored to be driving down University Avenue, along Interstate 57, at the pig plant in Rantoul, in Tuscola and Savoy. ICE was seen at the El Toro Mexican restaurant in Urbana. ICE was reportedly rounding up students at the dorms on the University of Illinois campus. ICE had been to a middle school in Champaign. Children were in custody of DCFS whose parents had been taken away by ICE.

These rumors all turned out NOT TO BE TRUE!!

It took me be back to the 1980s classic breakdancing song, “Rumors” by Timex Social Club, “Look at all these rumors, surrounding me everyday….”

A rumor that ICE was at the Best Buy in Champaign went viral. Somebody even created a meme with an ice cube that was widely circulated. I went inside the Best Buy and talked to a manager who told me he had heard nothing about ICE being there. I chased down the original poster who told me:

“Yesterday, 2 customers came into my work, and began joking to my coworker about ‘hiding, because they’d just come from Best Buy and saw that ICE had trucks there.’ I heard one talking to another co-worker, and the customer said she’d ‘been hearing about ICE in Champaign County, but didn’t expect to see them out already.’”

As you can see, overheard conversations can easily turn into rumors. Secondhand sources can become “true” stories. Most of the rumors came from people who sincerely wanted to protect our immigrant neighbors. Others were maliciously spreading these rumors, even thinking it was funny.

Please don’t spread such rumors!! If you hear something, feel free to message me privately and I can check with my sources.

Things in Chicago were relatively quiet, as well. When Secret Service showed up at an elementary school in the Back of the Yards neighborhood where many immigrants live, school employees refused them entrance to the school.

Downstate, Terri Bryant, Republican State Senator and former IDOC employee, who lives in Murphysboro, spoke out against the TRUST Act in Illinois which prevents state employees from communicating with ICE. In defiance of the law, Bryant encouraged prison staff to tell her about any incarcerated undocumented immigrants.

Folks who want to know more about immigration nationally should follow

Austin Kocher

on Substack, he recently posted many useful statistics on immigration.

In other news, for those following the mob action charges against Palestinian student Yafa Issa, her court date was postponed until Wednesday, February 12 at 9am in Courtroom A by Judge Webber who wanted more time to consider the motion to dismiss on First Amendment grounds.

Lastly, I recently received payments of $260 and $50 from my Substack account — thank you, kind readers, for your donations! I’m rewarding myself getting dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant. Consider also helping out by frequenting many of our local immigrant businesses.