Cafes, restaurants across Chicago put up signs barring immigration agents

[4th]

Cafes, restaurants across Chicago put up signs barring immigration agents
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/14/chicago-restaurants-ice-agents/

It’s a small, but mighty sign: “Everyone is welcome here, except I.CE.” Katherine Duncan, owner of Katherine Anne Confections, fastened it proudly on her shop’s front door.

“It was a no-brainer for me,” Duncan said on a recent Wednesday afternoon, hours after she put the sign up at the storefront on 3653 W. Irving Park Road. “I feel so helpless. With my business and my kids, I can’t escort students to and from school or other things like that. So it was like, well — what can we do?”

In recent weeks, Chicago has seen an increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions, which have been met with significant criticism from activists, local government and community groups, spurring protests, legal challenges and a new executive order from Mayor Brandon Johnson creating citywide “ICE-free zones” to push back against the federal crackdown. For restaurant and cafe workers, many of whom are immigrants, the looming threat of unannounced visits by ICE, which have already led to arrests in restaurants, outside grocery stores and in the parking lots of businesses in Chicago, has created anxiety and uncertainty about their future.

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The emptiest of empty gestures. They will be raided first.

[yardwork]

1. I think this could be very powerful if lots of businesses do it.

The only way to fight back is for the public to rise up against it.

[Prairie Gates]

2. It's not an empty gesture at all

What the fuck?

[4th]

5. A "come here and raid us" sign? Really? n/t

[Prairie Gates]

6. Holy Jesus

It tells everybody who is welcome and shows solidarity and if hundreds of restaurants in the city have them, it actually functionally bars ICE.

Your whole "come and raid me" nonsense is a weird fantasy and irrelevant.

[Torchlight]

10. Taking a surrender knee and acquiescing seems a worse deal

Sometimes, the convictions held by a few can become stronger than the appeasement held by many.

[Blues Heron]

3. It's the opposite of an empty gesture it's called walking the walk.

[ratchiweenie]

4. These masked stasi have to be opposed. She is brave.

[gab13by13]

7. Hard to eat with a mask on anyway,

My guess is they have to hide to eat.

[eShirl]

8. small acts of resistance add up

[cbabe]

9. Stick a frog on the signs. That'll do it.

[greatauntoftriplets]

11. Most Chicago businesses ban armed customers.

I applaud Katherine.

[Hekate]

12. Beautiful & Brave