Vic Mensa Calls Out ICE Raids in Chicago’s Black Communities
Federal immigration officers have increased their presence in Democratic-led cities across the U.S., and their latest stop is Chicago. Despite pushback from city and state leaders against federal law enforcement coming into the area, reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids have begun to spread through the city.
Chicago native and rapper Vic Mensa recently spoke out on Instagram in a video post.
“[ICE] raided a building in South Shore in the middle of the night, a predominantly Black neighborhood, used flash grenades to wake people up, and arrested them naked, rounded up and detained Black people and Venezuelans. ICE is separating Black parents from children, handcuffing the kids, and choking out Black men at traffic stops,” he shared.
Immigration has been one of the current federal government’s top issues. After the 2024 election results showed an increase in Latino support for conservative parties, some Black residents who once criticized ICE’s targeting of Hispanic and Latino communities have become less vocal.
“I even heard a young brother in the video say, ‘y’all supposed to be choking out Mexicans,’” Mensa recalled in the video, sharing some of the discussion among Black Chicagoans regarding the ICE infiltration.
“Many of us said when this s— started, this is our problem. ICE is our problem. I was met with so much denial: ‘No, thank you.’ ‘I think we’ll sit this one out,’ but we don’t have that luxury.”
Mensa urged Black and Latino communities to recognize their shared struggles. “The divisions between Black and Latino people are significant. There are valid concerns,” he said in the video. “But at this moment, it’s suicidal to not be unified, because the same agents of the state are attacking, abducting, and killing us both at the same time. And they’re relying on our separation right now.”
He encouraged people to know their rights, record ICE encounters, talk to their neighbors, and most importantly, stay safe. “Because the Gestapo has arrived, and this s—t is not sweet,” he warned.
