CHICAGO (AP) 鈥 The Rev. Marshall Hatch urged congregants of a prominent Black church on Chicago鈥檚 West Side to carry identification, stay connected to family and protest as the city readied for an expected federal intervention.
鈥淵ou need to start telling people about your whereabouts, so you don鈥檛 disappear,鈥 Hatch said during Sunday services at New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to despair. We鈥檙e not going to feel threatened. We鈥檙e not going to give up and give in to fascism and authoritarianism.鈥
As Chicago for an immigration enforcement crackdown and a possible National Guard deployment, churches across the city turned up their response from the pulpit. Some worked to quell fears about detention and deportation while others addressed the looming possibility of more law enforcement on the streets of the nation鈥檚 third-largest city.
Rev. Marshall Hatch warned his congregation at New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist on Sunday that Black Chicagoans may be targets Trump鈥檚 promised federal law enforcement intervention. (Sept. 7, 2025)
Mark Vancleave / AP VideoPresident Donald Trump has threatened federal intervention in Democratic strongholds, most recently warning could be used in Chicago to fight crime and step up deportations. He鈥檚 repeatedly cited the expected plans over fierce objections from and who call it unnecessary and unwanted.
While in immigrant circles since Trump took office the second time, the threat of more federal agencies and troops has also inflamed tensions, particularly in Black and Latino communities where is fragile.
Among the church attendees was Lester Burks, a 74-year-old U.S. Army veteran who said a military presence in Chicago would be threatening.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want soldiers here,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey are trained to fight.鈥
Sanctuary cities targeted
Details on the expected intervention have been sparse, including its focus and when it鈥檚 expected to begin. Trump鈥檚 border czar Tom Homan said Sunday on CNN鈥檚 鈥淪tate of the Union鈥 that federal law enforcement action will come to Chicago this week. He also promised more worksite enforcement operations like the massive one at a in Georgia.
鈥淵ou can expect action in most sanctuary cities across the country,鈥 he said.
The Trump administration has repeatedly targeted, and over Chicago’s sanctuary laws, which are among the strongest in the nation. His administration launched a in the city in January.
Thousands marched through the streets of Chicago Saturday protesting President Donald Trump's promised immigration and law enforcement operations in the city. (Sept. 7, 2025)
AP video by Mark VancleaveThere is no official聽definition for . The terms generally聽describe limits on local cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE enforces U.S. immigration laws nationwide but sometimes seeks state and local help.
This time, the Department of Homeland Security plans to use a and has alerted leaders of another suburb that they鈥檒l use a federal immigration processing center there for an operation . Meanwhile, Trump has said he might send National Guard troops to before Chicago.
Trump has already deployed the National Guard into and ., where he鈥檚 also federalized the A federal judge has ruled the Los Angeles deployment is .
鈥淲e don鈥檛 need another level of law enforcement and their presence to pretend they鈥檙e going to solve problems related to violence,鈥 a Democrat, said at a Sunday news conference with other Black elected leaders on the city’s West Side.
Most of Chicago鈥檚 nearly 3 million people are Black or Latino. New Mount Pilgrim is located in the city鈥檚 West Garfield Park neighborhood, a largely Black neighborhood which has faced persistent crime and years of disinvestment, including five schools near the church that closed in 2013 as part of the largest in U.S. history.
The church has often called for action against street violence even as Chicago’s rates of violent crime substantially in recent years as part of . Its large stained glass art installations depict the lives of slaves and memorialize Black people killed by violence. On Sunday, the church celebrated the groundbreaking of a nearby arts and activism center it said was part of the solution.
People participated in a protest in Chicago ahead of federal authorities kicking off a major immigration enforcement action on President Donald Trump's orders. (Sept. 6, 2025)
AP video by Mark Vancleave鈥淲e鈥檙e not calling for military, we鈥檙e calling for resources,鈥 Hatch told congregants. 鈥淲e know that there is a correlation between resources and violence.鈥
Chicago on edge
Elsewhere in the city, other churches worked to remind people of their rights when it comes to interactions with immigration agents, urging them to carry necessary documents.
The feeling of being on edge was familiar to many in Chicago, and the expected operation on the city鈥檚 usually festive Mexican Independence Day celebrations. Church leaders said the January immigration operation in Chicago had a chilling effect on attendance at immigrant-heavy and Latino churches as people stayed home.
Clergy said they were preparing for the same in the weeks ahead.
鈥淚t feels like anything can happen at any moment,鈥 said the Rev. Paco Amador of New Life Community Church in the predominantly Mexican Little Village neighborhood. 鈥淚t would be irresponsible not to talk about this.鈥
__
Associated Press writer Calvin Woodward contributed to this report from Washington.
