Rogers Park

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Criminal – “Rogers Park”

Host: Phoebe Judge
Date: November 7, 2025
Podcast Network: Vox Media Podcast Network

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Episode Overview

In this gripping and urgent episode of Criminal, host Phoebe Judge investigates how one Chicago neighborhood, Rogers Park, has mobilized against a surge in federal immigration enforcement activity. Through immersive on-the-ground reporting, interviews with local organizers, and the voices of residents, the episode explores community self-defense, the emotional toll of ICE raids, and the creative, grassroots systems developed to resist and notify neighbors in danger. The story is a window into both the terror and solidarity found in an immigrant-rich community under siege.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Recent Surge in ICE Activity

• The episode opens with firsthand accounts of a day when multiple community members were detained by ICE in Rogers Park (01:17).
  • People saw workers being taken off ladders, landscapers, and roofers detained by apparent federal agents (01:23-01:33).
  • Residents describe fear and real-time responses to suspected raids, including targeted stops of work vans (01:44–02:35).

Quote:

“They’re just going in circles.” – Volunteer, describing ICE vehicles in the neighborhood (04:52)

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2. Community Organization: “Protect Rogers Park”

• Gabe Gonzalez, co-founder of Protect Rogers Park, is introduced as the central organizer. Gabe and his fellow volunteers use Signal (an encrypted app) to track, verify, and respond to ICE activity (02:46–03:53).
  • Volunteers (“verifiers”) are trained to distinguish real ICE agents and vehicles from false alerts (03:53–04:36).
  • System of whistle codes: three long whistles to warn about sightings, three short for detainments, to alert vulnerable residents and prompt action (05:29–06:08).

Quote:

“Many, many, many of the reports we get are actually not accurate… The verifiers have been trained on how to identify ICE vehicles and how to identify ICE agents, and they will go out … to verify if it’s real or not.” – Gabe Gonzalez (03:58)

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3. Nonviolent Resistance and Self-Defense

• Volunteers are taught nonviolent direct action: physically blocking or slowing ICE vehicles, always in groups for safety (08:30–09:40).
  • There are risks; some volunteers have had guns pulled on them or been arrested (08:30).
  • The legal ambiguity around impeding federal enforcement is discussed—local lawyers advise, but ICE threatens charges (09:03–09:40).

Quote:

“These guys are like classic bullies … but they’re more than happy to gang up three or four on somebody who’s alone.” – Gabe Gonzalez (08:36)

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4. Scenes from the Ground: Home Depot Raid

• A detailed account of responding to an ICE raid at a Home Depot: volunteers filming, trying to inform detainees of their rights, and using “bystander” tactics to physically slow the detention process (10:15–12:54).
  • The emotional aftermath: “The man moves his motorcycle out of the way. The agents get into the white SUV…” (12:54).

Memorable Moment:

“We stopped them from trying to arrest this guy who was riding by on a scooter. They pulled him over and they were hassling him. But luckily we were already on the street and there were a lot of us there. And when they saw that there was a big crowd there, they left.” – Gabe Gonzalez (06:34)

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5. The Cost: Fear, Loss, and Disruption

• Beyond detainments, the ICE action reverberates through the community:
  • Schools report dramatically lower attendance—classrooms are half empty as families stay home in fear (18:06).
  • Local businesses lose 30–50% of revenue as people avoid public places (18:06).
  • Cars left abandoned after detentions—everyday signs of people gone missing (14:23).

Quote:

“It’s a sense of loss. This is our neighbors. They had taken one of us, more than one.” – Hector, volunteer (32:54)

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6. Building Grassroots Infrastructure

• Protect Rogers Park has grown into a highly organized network, with hundreds of “verifiers,” channels for schools and elected officials, and 24/7 vigilance (19:03–19:16).
  • 950+ trained verifiers, 2,000+ on Signal, 16 school patrols, and rapid response to ICE sightings citywide (19:03–19:37).
  • “Hands Off Chicago” signs and neighborhood meetings are visible signs of solidarity (19:37–22:43).

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7. Human Stories: Volunteers and Residents

• The episode profiles several key members:
  • Marisa Graciosa (Gabe’s partner): Daughter of Filipino immigrants, co-founder of Protect Rogers Park. Shares a personal perspective on the stakes for mixed-status families and neighbors (21:06–22:43).
    • “When [Trump] won, it just became clear that our folks were going to be a target. And when I say our folks, it’s… people that I love and that I know.” (21:35)
  • Hector: Puerto Rican resident, reflects on the necessity and irony of community defense against a government agency (28:09–32:54).
  • David: Mexican-born longtime resident. Describes his arrival in Chicago by chance, and how diversity and acceptance define life in Rogers Park (33:05–36:38).

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8. Agency and Hope Amid Oppression

• The simple whistle is a symbol of reclaimed agency and hope:
  • Whistles and rapid alerts have allowed some undocumented residents to evade ICE, buy time, and avoid detainment (37:07–37:45).
  • The organizers note increased unity and resilience—even under pressure, more Chicagoans are mobilizing and protecting each other (36:41–36:53).

Quote:

“What can a regular person do about this? And it was so elegant in a way. And is that tiny, non-violent. It’s absolutely nonviolent… to just blow the whistle to say that they’re here.” – Marisa Graciosa (37:57)

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Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• “We’re chasing ICE.”
  Gabe Gonzalez (02:46)

• “Many, many, many of the reports we get are actually not accurate… The verifiers have been trained on how to identify ICE vehicles and how to identify ICE agents, and they will go out…”
  Gabe Gonzalez (03:53)

• “They will not stand up to a group, but they’re more than happy to gang up three or four on somebody who’s alone.”
  Gabe Gonzalez (08:36)

• “I think it’s very important that you start from the basis that this is community self-defense, that you are here to help all of us be safe… It’s ironic that you had to be safe against the government, but that’s what it is.”
  Hector (31:23)

• “I know this: the unexpected consequence of this is that people in Chicago are more and more organized every day.”
  Gabe Gonzalez (36:41)

• “Probably this is a silly thing on me, but I don’t want fear to paralyze us to stop leaving.”
  David (38:30)

• “It gives some agency back to people… it was so elegant in a way… to just blow the whistle to say that they’re here.”
  Marisa Graciosa (37:57)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Fear and Initial Responses: 01:17–02:35
• Tracking ICE Activity with Volunteers: 02:46–04:36
• Whistle System and Community Alerts: 05:29–06:08, 30:44–31:23
• Nonviolent Resistance Tactics: 08:30–09:40
• Home Depot Raid Account: 10:13–12:54
• Abandonment and Loss: 14:00–14:48, 32:54
• Impact on Schools and Businesses: 18:06
• Organizational Structure and Scale: 19:03–19:37
• Personal Testimonies (Marisa, Hector, David): 21:06–22:43, 28:09–36:38
• Agency Restored—Whistle Stories: 37:07–37:57

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Themes and Takeaways

• Collective Power over Fear: The episode powerfully illustrates how ordinary people build collective resistance to threats, with whistle warnings, organized patrols, and solidarity at the core.
• Enduring Resilience: Despite escalating risks and harsh tactics, the Rogers Park response is marked by hope, improvisation, and unity.
• Intimate Human Impact: The realities of ICE enforcement echo through every level of community life—from missing classmates to abandoned vehicles—yet hope persists in neighbors looking out for each other.

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This episode is a deeply reported, emotionally resonant portrait of a neighborhood fighting to protect its own, capturing both the terror and dignity of resistance, and the creative ways communities adapt in the face of crisis.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

It was terrible. You know, we lost quite a few people from our neighborhood.

[C]

We saw them literally take people off of the ladder that they were working on. There was like, I think there were landscapers that were taken, people who were working on roofs.

[D]

Someone mentioned in the chat say, hey, they are targeting vans, working vans and stopping people. They already stab landscapers.

[A]

On Tuesday, October 21, people on the north side of Chicago noticed men in cars who they thought might be federal immigration agents.

[D]

No, I. I have people that work with me and they are also non documented. And I have a van that I work with, a white utility van. We have three cars in our family. My wife has one car. I have a second car where I carry my child around the city. And I had my working card and I was like, you know, a little bit apprehensive of things that might happen. I said, I thought, hey, you know what, I'm just gonna take you home and let's take off today and tomorrow.

[A]

One of the first people we met when we got to Chicago was a man named Gabe Gonzalez. We met him at an intersection around noon and got in his car. We asked him what he was doing.

[E]

We're chasing ice.

[A]

And what part of the city are we?

[E]

We are in Rogers park on the northern side of the city. It's right up against the lake. It's a very diverse community. It's probably 25, 30% Latino, 20% African American. Lots of refugees from all over the world, maybe 35% Anglo. And ICE is circling the neighborhood. They are in other neighborhoods around us.

[A]

Gabe helps run an organization called Protect Rogers Park. He uses an encrypted app called Signal to communicate with people who volunteered to go out looking for ICE agents. There are a lot of volunteers. So what are you looking at right now?

[E]

I'm looking at my signal thread, which has. We've got this thing called verifiers. So people, like, will put information on there about where they believe ICE has been seen, and then there's moderators who will sort of collect it all and let us know where we need to focus on any given moment.

[A]

When you're saying verifiers, just what. What does that word mean?

[E]

Well, as you can imagine, many, many, many of the reports we get are actually not accurate. Right. They're just people who are scared. They see something that looks scary to them, and so they report it. And the verifiers have been trained on how to identify ICE vehicles and how to identify ICE agents, and they will go out to where the report has come from, and they will verify if it's real or not. And if it's real, we then sort of move into gear to get other people on the scene to slow ICE down, if not stop them.

[A]

I mean, your phone is just constantly going off with alerts and things.

[E]

Yeah. Yes, it is. How is it?

[A]

Gabe pulled over to talk to someone standing on a street corner.

[E]

How you doing? How is it?

[F]

Bad.

[E]

Yeah. Have you seen them specifically?

[F]

Yes. So they've been up and down Clark for the past couple hours. They were down running down Devon for a while. We circled them on Wayne. They were just going in circles.

[E]

And what car was that?

[F]

Mostly all white SUVs. I'm sorry, who you guys with?

[E]

I'm Gabe Gonzalez.

[F]

Oh, hey, how are you? Mostly the white suv, Ford with a Michigan plate with no front plate, the Florida plate, and then there's a California plate.

[E]

All of them are Florida plates of Denali, right?

[F]

Yes.

[A]

The volunteers keep track of certain license plates on unmarked cars they believe belong to immigration agents. What do you do with the whistle?

[G]

So we.

[F]

Whenever there is ICE sighted or someone is being detained by ICE for a sighting, we give the three long whistles. And then for being detained, it's the three short. Though a lot of times, people also just do it constantly because and that's.

[A]

To kind of warn others in the area to get out of here.

[G]

Yes.

[F]

So while we were following people on our bikes, where we were following an actual ICE vehicle, we blowed three times. So that anyone in the area. So landscapers, anyone who is possibly at risk outside, knows to get inside and protect themselves and their families.

[A]

So you'll be out here for as long as you can.

[F]

Yes, that is. That's the goal.

[C]

Okay, Bye.

[A]

Bye. There's a hotline that people all over the state call to report when ICE shows up. Lately, they say they've been getting hundreds of calls a day. One day they got over 1500. Protect Rogers park first started monitoring ice in the neighborhood eight years ago during the first Trump administration.

[E]

They tend to grab up people who are alone. They'll get people working in their yard or on someone's yard, if not their own. They get people walking down the street, like that post office we just passed. We stopped them from trying to arrest this guy who was riding by on a scooter. They pulled him over and they were hassling him. But luckily we were already on the street and there were a lot of us there. And when they saw that there was a big crowd there, they left.

[A]

And are they asking anything about citizenship or papers or anything, or are they just taking them?

[E]

Sometimes it varies. When they tend to ask is when people tend to say that they have them, and then they'll stop and ask.

[A]

People who look a certain way.

[E]

Yeah, like me. Well, darker people. Generally, like somebody I know saw them hassling three South Asians. You know, I don't really see them hanging around outside of Cubs game asking people for their papers.

[A]

The mayor of Chicago declared Chicago a sanctuary city in 1985. It still is one. But on September 8, a press release from the Department of Homeland Security announced that ICE would be launching an operation in Chicago. It called the city a, quote, magnet for criminals. About a month later, the Chicago mayor signed a, quote, ICE Free Zone executive order banning federal immigration agents from using buildings in parking lots owned by the city. The Chicago police have nothing to do with this. I mean, they're not working legally.

[E]

They are not allowed to coordinate with ICE because we are a sanctuary city. But so our understanding of their operation at this moment is that they will not hinder nor will they help ice, and they will not hinder, nor will they help us.

[A]

Gabe told us the volunteers start patrolling very early in the morning.

[E]

We've had a number of volunteers who've had guns pulled on them, and one that was arrested. I Mean, these guys are like classic bullies. Like, they will not stand up to a group, but they're more than happy to gang up three or four on somebody who's alone. And so we do what we call nonviolent direct action training. So it's like we teach them how to move in groups. We teach them how to communicate. We teach them how to be disciplined in their actions and to use their bodies to slow down. Ice, Right.

[A]

How would you use your body to slow ICE down?

[E]

Well, you know, you could walk in front of them. You could walk slowly in front of them. You could put your car in front of them. You could, you know, any number of things that you could do. ICE will tell you that a number of them are illegal for impeding the enforcement of a federal official. We have talked to many lawyers and would have a difference of opinion about that. We also train people in understanding their risk level and who can. Who can take more risk than others. Yep.

[D]

So apparently we've been following them.

[A]

They're actually at Home Depot.

[E]

You gotta be fucking kidding me. They were just there before.

[A]

Gabe was on his phone constantly. When there were reports of immigration agents at one Home Depot, we drove to a different one in case they showed up there, too.

[E]

So earlier today, they hit two Home Depots. So I am headed to the place where I was this morning where they had apprehended someone, mostly to warn others that we think they might be there.

[A]

Yeah. What did happen at the Home Depot earlier today?

[E]

So, yeah, like, we got the call that they were chasing people at the Home Depot, which, from where I live is about 10 minutes. So it took me a moment to get there. There were already, like, five or six people there. They're no longer chasing anybody, but they did find somebody in a van, and there's like five or six Border Patrol agents and a bunch of us sort of filming it and trying to explain to him his rights and that they didn't have to take him, he didn't have to go with. He was in shock. He was just kind of like, sort of staring around. That's the van he was in.

[A]

Gabe filmed agents in Border Patrol uniforms and face coverings opening the driver's side door of the van and speaking to the man sitting inside.

[E]

We're at the Home Depot at Devon and California. There appear to be 3, 4, 5 members of the Border Patrol. They are trying to take this man out of the car. There are a number of respondents here. They. He doesn't look like he wants to leave the car, and it doesn't look like they have a warrant. Otherwise, it probably just take.

[A]

In the video, one of the men in uniform walks toward Gabe. It sounds like he tells him, you'll be arrested. He you're here illegally.

[E]

I'm not talking to you, motherfucker. Yeah, okay. Yeah. And so anyway.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

The man in the van looks at Gabe as he stands up from his seat. Then one of the officers walks between them and another pulls the man out of the van. There are at least four other people filming from different angles. The camera turns toward a white suv, which seems to belong to the agents. A man with a motorcycle has positioned himself right in the path of the suv. The agents tell the man to move the motorcycle.

[E]

Okay. Hey, move your bike out of the way. Move your bike out of the way.

[A]

Gabe walks up to him and starts talking to him, trying to help him stall.

[E]

I'm just popping into the. Yeah, actually, they just started selling in the United States. No, honestly. And they're like $4,000 brand new. Move your bike right now. You will be arrested. Okay. Of the truck that they took him from. You ready? Yeah.

[A]

The man moves his motorcycle out of the way. The agents get into the white suv. Another black SUV follows behind it.

[E]

Okay. Did anybody get his name?

[A]

I'm Phoebe Judge. This is criminal.

[E]

This becomes the map of the city, right? Like, tried to take somebody in that apartment building down there. But we got there in time and they ran away. He wouldn't open the door. They were banging on the door. Open the door. Open the door. They were kicking it and pounding on it. And then we showed up, and they split.

[A]

About half an hour later, Gabe got a message about a volunteer who was arrested while patrolling. Do you know anything more about what happened?

[B]

No.

[E]

They found their car in an alley. It was abandoned. The driver's side door was open. So, I mean, we can do the math. That's all we know. We contacted the National Lawyers Guild, and they're hunting for them now. And probably we'll be able to find them relatively soon. But they just leave the car there.

[A]

You know, they pull the person out.

[E]

And that's what they do with folks who are undocumented, too, but with the undocumented folks, because they have less rights, they'll just break the window and grab them. You find these cars a lot on the southwest side, but you find them all over. Where it's like, window's broken, person. Isn't there cars undisturbed other than that?

[A]

Have you ever seen anything like this?

[E]

Like the ISIS Kalisha?

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

No, no, like there's not. There's never been anything like this. I mean, I've never as an adult, you know, living in the city of Chicago. I've never seen anything like this.

[A]

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[E]

I was talking to a bunch of businesses yesterday and it depended on the business, but anywhere from 30 to 50% of the business that they used to have, they don't have anymore. So there's people who are directly affected who are scared and like trying to lay low and just trying to go about their daily lives. And it's not only them, but it's their American citizen relatives. It's like usually there's what they call mixed status households, which means that some of the people have papers and some don't. And then you've got like, you know, plenty of good old fashioned US citizens who are angry and want to see something change because this is not what we were, you know, this is not what we told America was.

[A]

Gabe Gonzalez says more than 950 people have started volunteering as verifiers with Protect Rogers Park. And their network on Signal includes more than 2,000 people.

[E]

We look at signal 24 7. You know, you wake up in the morning, it's the first thing you look at. You go to bed, it's the last thing you look at. There's a couple more of ours right here.

[A]

So there really are people on almost every corner, you know, monitoring.

[E]

Yeah, the numbers I gave you were not. They're real. They're not bullshit. Plus we have school. We have 16 school patrols. We have a whole other channel with elected officials, a whole nother channel with school principals. Yeah, it's quite, it's quite the operation.

[A]

Gabe has a hands off Chicago sign in the front window of his house in Rogers park. And there are whistles by the front door. We sat at the kitchen table to talk. Where did you grow up?

[E]

Michigan City, Indiana, just across the lake.

[A]

Growing up so close to Chicago, did you think to yourself, I'm going to move there when I'm older?

[D]

Yeah, always. Yeah.

[E]

Not a lot of people get out of Michigan City and not a lot of people want to good on them. But I did. The promise of Chicago to me was always the promise of America, allegedly. Which is like, you know, you work hard, you like, don't get into too much trouble, you'll do okay. That's what I think a lot of people still feel about this place. I love it. And it is so diverse, right? For Midwest, it's like you can meet anybody in Chicago. Like the assumption is that even a couple generations back somebody just came here.

[A]

Right.

[E]

Somewhere. Where are your people from is like a pretty standard question. Unless you Hear their last name, and you already know where their people are from, because there's a lot of that, too.

[C]

I think they've done some statistics on it, but, like, Rogers park looks racially, actually mirrors the rest of Chicago.

[A]

This is Marisa Graciosa. She and Gabe got married 11 years ago, a year after they moved to Rogers Park. She grew up in Wisconsin.

[C]

My dad is a pediatrician. My mom is an ob gyn. And so they immigrated here from the Philippines in the late 70s. I was born in New York. And then they tried to find a place to get a job and raise a family. And there were a few options. Georgia was an option. I think Tennessee was an option. And they landed in Wisconsin.

[A]

Marisa and Gabe started Protect Rogers park together with some neighbors in 2017.

[C]

I remember, actually my son, I was pregnant, and almost every single onesie that either a friend made or bought for us were, like, all political. So, like, we had little onesies for him that said, bad hombre. And at the time, I was. Anyway, everyone was just. Everything was political. Right. I knew that I was about to raise my son in this very political, divisive moment. But, like, when he won, it just became clear that our folks were going to be a target. And when I say our folks, it's like, yes, undocumented people, but, like, more specifically, like, people that I love and that I know. Like, I know because I live in this community, because my parents are immigrants. I know a lot of people who may not have papers or who were documented at the time and who were incredibly scared. And so I just. I remember thinking, like, I can't affect what's going on on the national level. I don't see any legislation coming forward or anything like that. But what I can control is, like, what happens here in this community.

[A]

She and Gabe and their neighbors organized a meeting in the neighborhood. Hundreds of people showed up. They started training people to identify ACE agents and let people in Rogers park know when they saw them. Gabe says back then, there were a few big raids, but nothing like it's been lately. Was yesterday unusual for Rogers park with the amount of activity going on?

[C]

Yeah, we just haven't seen this much activity. But now we've had, like, just in the last week and a half, three pretty intense days where we've seen several cars that we've identified as ice. We've had several neighbors witness record abductions, and that's pretty intense.

[A]

As we were talking with Marisa, Gabe rushed in.

[C]

Hi. No, Where Northeastern is Albany Park.

[E]

Yeah. It's like, in between Albany park and Westridge. I already told our folks on the verifice.

[C]

Okay, so it sounds like they're on the north side. Ish. Multiple cars at Kimball and Hollywood. It seems like they're not confirmed kidnappings at this point, but it looks like there may be activity in Albany park, which is like 15, 20 minutes from here.

[A]

It's interesting both you and Gabe use the word kidnappings.

[C]

That's what it is. They're just taking people, and then they ask questions later.

[A]

There's an FAQ section on ICE's website. One of the questions is, is ICE snatching or kidnapping people off the streets? The answer reads, quote, ice doesn't kidnap people. Everyone in ICE custody is accounted for. And you can search the online detainee locator system or contact a local field office to find someone you're looking for, end quote. But there have been reports of delays and errors in that system. And this year, immigration agents have also detained many people who are in the country legally. In a recent Supreme Court case about ICE arrests in Los Angeles, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that, quote, immigration agents are not conducting brief stops for questioning. They are seizing people using firearms, physical violence, and warehouse detentions. Nor are undocumented immigrants the only ones harmed by the government's conduct. United States citizens are also being seized, taken from their jobs, and prevented from working to support themselves and their families, end quote. On October 9th, several people were arrested near the corner of Clark and Mundt in Rogers Park. A man selling tamales was questioned, but he had his green card and was released. Two people he was with were put in the back of an unmarked car.

[E]

And then word got out, right, like, this had happened and, you know, Rogers park, like, blew up.

[A]

Our.

[E]

The next thing you know, we had, like, probably 200 people on the street all along Clark street, all along Morris, which is another business avenue. Like, on bikes, riding around the neighborhood, just really like, nah, this will not stand.

[A]

A few days later, Border Patrol agents were seen outside a church in Rogers park during a Spanish language mass.

[E]

10 minutes before the mass was about to let out. We put out the word that folks at St. Jerome's are afraid to leave mass. And there were like 50 people standing outside in 10 minutes, you know, and, like, walk them to their cars, walk them home.

[A]

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[B]

My name is Hector and I live in Westridge, which is also known as West Rogers Park.

[A]

We wanted to speak with some of the other volunteers in Rogers park about what they've been seeing lately. What, what do you like about living in, in this neighborhood?

[B]

Well, I, you know, I'm Puerto Rican and it's in the context of immigrants that I feel kind of more able to be myself, that I don't face all the prejudices of this society with the intensity that when you are in other places that are more white. And mind you, I had lived in the city of Chicago for almost 20 years, 25 years.

[A]

So tell me about, you know, a day when you're out patrolling. What, what are you doing?

[B]

Well, like, we just came from patrolling.

[A]

A school, Westridge Elementary School. For over a decade, ICE wasn't allowed to arrest people in schools, churches, and hospitals. But earlier this year, President Trump reversed that policy. Some volunteers have organized to help walk students to school and they've put together teams to patrol the area nearby as the day starts and ends.

[G]

Like yesterday over in Westridge, we had ICE all over the place. It was a very hectic day and many of the schools were doing inside recess. There's. Yeah, they've got plans in place to keep the kids and staff and teachers safe inside.

[A]

This is another volunteer named Loretta. She'd also come from patrolling the school in that role. What are you looking for? What are you doing?

[G]

We are looking for the kinds of vehicles that ICE typically drives, which a lot of people also drive. But we do have specific vehicles that we know are ICE vehicles. And then of course, we try to see the driver. And lately what they've been doing is putting one guy up front, it's almost always guys, two in the back seat. And they're usually in some sort of camouflage gear. And if they see you looking, they'll pull up their little face covers. So we're doing some vehicle profiling and driver profiling to try and see if these are people that are dangerous to.

[A]

Our neighbors and if they were to get out of the car and come towards someone, what would you do at that point?

[G]

Well, we whistle as soon as we're sure it's ice. We have the three short whistles when we sure we see ice, and then long whistles if it looks like they're about to take somebody. And yeah, if they were getting out and coming towards somebody around me, I would be whistling, screaming. I would try to maintain a distance from them. I'm not sure I would always be able to do that. It's my intention to keep a distance and be loud and just try and warn people. The schools have a plan that when they hear whistles or la migra or ICE is here, they take everyone inside. But it also alerts the neighbors.

[B]

I think it's very important that you start from the basis that this is community self defense, that you are here to help all of us be safe in our neighborhood. It's ironic that you had to be safe against the government, but that's what it is. Yesterday when I went to the site of the abduction, I saw that car of a woman that was taken. And there is the car just sitting there. You know, it's a reminder of someone that was driving that car that who has disappeared. I also saw a picture reported in one of the channels of ICE going into the Home Depot in Evanston. And they were inside the store. There were two ICE agents on top of the back of the person that was there. You could see in the picture the man's hat on the side. And that is mind blowing. That's when one goes to Home Depot to get materials for their work and ends up being kidnapped, you know. And then overall, having lost so many people yesterday, it's a sense of loss. This is our neighbors. They had taken one of us, more than one.

[D]

I moved here when I was 30. 30, 32, more or less.

[A]

Here's another volunteer. He moved to the US from Mexico.

[D]

My name is David. David in English, David in Spanish. I'm a Reyes park resident for the last 18 years.

[A]

Why did you choose to live in Rogers Park?

[D]

My wife is a white woman and me I'm a Latino guy, a brown skinned Latino guy. So my wife did a research on what neighborhood will be the best for interracial couples and we find out that Royce park has like close to 90 languages spoken with a high diversity from all over the places. So we say well very spirit is and since then we are here.

[A]

What did you know about Chicago before you moved here? Did you come straight from Mexico to Chicago?

[D]

That's a very interesting question. People always ask me that, like why did I choose Chicago? Short answer is like in Latin America you don't hear about places like Cleveland or you don't hear places about Oklahoma, you don't hear those names but you hear about Chicago. When I came to the US I stopped by Texas. I was there for a couple weeks and I earned $70 back on the 2000, 1999 and I wanted to go north. So I went to the Greenhouse bus station. I approached the girl at the counter and I told her I had $70 how far I can go north. So she started looking at the schedules of the buses and she said, well you can go to three places and the tickets are going to cost you the same one. You can go to Cleveland, Ohio, you're going to pay $67 with 54 cents. Let's say that you can go to North Carolina and you're going to pay 67 with 54 cents to North Carolina, you can go to Chicago and you can pay 67 with 54 cents. So that's up to you. So say, well give me a ticket to Chicago. And that's how I end up in Chicago.

[A]

What was the first job you got when you got here?

[D]

Oh God, I had dozens of jobs. I worked in a chocolate factory, I work in a plastic factory, I work in a beds factory. So many places until I found a job that kept me on my face. And from that moment or from that work on, my life has been beautiful in Chicago. I mean up to this moment I have no worries other than immigration. Other than that my life is happy is worry less now. I think I did the most wonderful, wise decision when coming here because I have built a community here.

[A]

How do you see this ending?

[E]

I don't know. I don't know. I know this like the unexpected consequence of this is that people in Chicago are more and more organized every day.

[G]

Well, I hope it's going to end with us defeating this whole project and getting these people out of our city. I like to believe Delia Ramirez when she said yesterday, you're not going to beat Chicago.

[C]

Last Night we got a message from an undocumented person who was driving in the neighborhood and overheard the whistles and realized, oh, something's up there. And then did a U turn and just went a different way. We know that there were people taken today, but then we also don't know the number of people who maybe were able to turn around because they heard whistles. And this one woman messaged us and said, yeah, I was able to avoid that area because I heard whistles and you were there and thank you. You, I have another day.

[A]

I mean, this, you know, using a whistle to war. I mean, this could be 300 years ago. You know, it's in some ways the most basic warning system.

[C]

Yeah, it gives some agency back to people to say, like. Because I think there was a moment where like, what the fuck are we going to do? They have guns, they have tasers, they have tear gas. What can a regular person do about this? And it was just so, it was so elegant in a way. And is that tiny, non violent. It's absolutely nonviolent. Right. And absolutely within our, our rights as, as people who live in this country to just blow the whistle to say that they're here.

[D]

Probably this is a silly thing on me, but I don't want fear to paralyze us to stop leaving. We're extra careful whenever we go to Home Depot. We just drive around 1, 2, 3 times making sure that nothing is suspicious. And we escaped once? No, we got there 10 minutes after they left. When people saw me at Home Depot, they recognized me and said, hey, be careful. They just left and they're like, oh my God, let's get the stuff and let's go. So it's just like, it's just been extra cautious. But we have to move forward, keep going. Things are gonna be done at some point. This is not, is not going to last forever.

[A]

Criminal is created by Lauren Spohr and me. Nadia Wilson is our senior producer. Katie Bishop is our supervising producer. Our producers are Susanna Roberson, Jackie Sagiko, Lily Clark, Lena Sillison and Megan Kinane. Our show is mixed and engineered by Veronica Simonetti. Julian Alexander makes original illustrations for each episode of Criminal. You can see [e-mail] and you can sign up for our [e-mail] Newsletter we hope you'll consider supporting our work by joining our membership program, Criminal. Plus, you can listen to Criminal, this is Love. And Phoebe reads a mystery without any ads. Plus you'll get bonus episodes. These are special episodes with me and Criminal co creator Lauren Spohr talking about everything from how we make our episodes to the crime stories that caught our attention that week, to things we've been enjoying lately. To learn more, go to ThisIsCriminal.com plus we're on Facebook at ThisIsCriminal and Instagram and TikTok at CriminalPodcast. We're also on YouTube at YouTube.com CriminalPodcast. Criminal is part of the Vox Media Podcast network. Discover more great [e-mail] I'm Phoebe Judge. This is Criminal. Nobody knows your customers better than your team, so give them the power to make standout content with Adobe Express. Brand kits make following design rules a breeze, and Adobe quality templates make it easy to create pro looking flyers, social posts, presentations and more. You don't have to be a designer to edit campaigns, resize ads, and translate content. Anyone can in a click and collaboration tools put feedback right where you need it. See how you can turn your team into a content machine with Adobe Express, a quick and easy app to create on brand content. Learn more at adobe. Com Express Business.