Chicago, IL – On January 20, the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration and Martin Luther King Day, members of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) joined over 80 organizations to protest Trump’s plans for mass deportations.

2500 protesters gathered in Chicago’s Federal Plaza, bundled to protect themselves from frigid temperatures with below zero windchill. Chants included, “When immigrants’ rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

Dr. Diane Castro, 18 year veteran teacher and chair of CTU’s Early Childhood Committee, tied the fight for immigrant rights with the union’s ongoing contract campaign. Contract negotiations between CTU and Chicago Public Schools have now extended more than six months beyond the expiration of the prior contract in June 2024, in part due to delays from Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez.

Castro stated, “We are fighting for a contract that protects the rights of the educators, students and families from Project 2025, and that includes strengthened language for LGBTQIA students and sanctuary schools.”

Castro’s statements reflect years of efforts from CTU’s leadership and rank and file to organize themselves against deportations and other threats towards immigrant students and families. For example, the contract won by CTU in 2019 states that “except by a court order, CPS shall not disclose to ICE any information regarding the immigration status of any CPS student.”

More recently, the CTU has ramped up education on immigrant defense for its members and communities with a Sanctuary Series that began in December and will run until February. The series includes “Know Your Rights” and sanctuary schools trainings. Previous sessions in January and February have been attended by hundreds of teachers and parents.

Such measures go towards the goal of CTU President Stacy Davis Gates and the union to create a “force field around our school communities” against Project 2025. The union has pressed for an urgent resolution to the contract issue given Trump’s agenda.

In addition to the contact campaign and internal education, CTU leaders recently spoke out alongside immigrant rights organizations such as Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) to defend Chicago’s status as a sanctuary city.

An ordinance was recently drafted for the city council floor by Alderpersons Raymond Lopez and Silvana Tabares that, if passed, would have allowed Chicago police to aid Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in certain deportation cases. After protest from immigrant rights groups, progressive aldermen such as Jessie Fuentes and Byron Sigcho Lopez, and progressive leaders such as those in CTU, the council denied the ordinance from coming up for discussion in a vote of 39-11.

Despite threats from Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, that ICE raids would begin in Chicago on day one, the city has not yet seen any raids as of Wednesday.

“We showed that Chicago is going to unite and fight back for immigrants and all oppressed communities,” said Kobi Guillory, a member of CTU and co-chair of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR), one of the convening organizations of the January 20 protest.

The call for solidarity across Chicago’s communities was repeated throughout the protest. As Dr. Diane Castro said, “I remind you that we have done this before, and we will survive it again, but only if we stand together.”

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