To fulfill Trump’s absurd goal of deporting the entire undocumented population, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is finding new hires to join Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) all across the country. These recruitment opportunities provide an opening for attack.
On August 7th, 2025 in Chicago, a group of 10 protesters disrupted a job fair at the Congress Hotel where DHS was recruiting. Protesters held a banner that read “STOP KIDNAPPING OUR NEIGHBORS,” chanted, and read the names of children who had died in Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) custody.
“Anadith Danay Reyes Alvarez – 8 years old.”
“Shame!”
“Jakelin Caal Maquin – 7 years old.”
“Shame!”
“Felipe Gomez Alonso – 8 years old.”
“Shame!”
“Carlos Gregario Hernandez – 16 years old.”
“Shame!”
“These are just a few of the people whose blood is on the hands of Customs and Border Protection!”
Though the disruption only lasted 45 minutes, and the job fair added on an extra hour to make up for it, few people went up to the CBP table after. Some people at the job fair even joined the protesters to chant outside.
The most common reflection among participants after the action was that it went very smoothly, thanks to how well laid out the plan was ahead of time. A couple of organizers decided on roles that needed to be filled (banner holder, chant lead) and asked people to fill them. The group met nearly every day the three days before the action. Someone scouted the space ahead of time to help with the formation of the plan, which went like this:
On the day of, folks met near the Congress Hotel. One person went in to scope the situation: how many security guards, police, etc.. One thing that made the disruption easy was the layout of the room. There were multiple entrances in. One person signed up for the job fair using a fake name, and that person opened one of the side doors to let the other protesters in. From there they unfurled a banner and took out a megaphone.
“Chicagoans, is it normal to you that fascists are here downtown casually recruiting more agents to profile, scapegoat and terrorize people you care about? Is it normal to you that that your tax dollars are being used as hiring bonuses for this shit, at the same time as medicaid and food stamps are being slashed?
“This is not normal! Tearing apart families is not a career! Kidnapping is not a career! Denying emergency medical care to KIDS is not a career! Deporting students for calling out genocide is NOT A CAREER! And sending working-class brown and Black people to concentration camps is not a career!
“Thats why when CBP and ICE recruit, Chicagoans shut it down! Shut! It! Down!”
During the disruption, one protester talked to job seekers who were approaching the table. “I tried to engage ppl who were at the table from a place of empathy. I talked to this one guy. I wouldn’t say he full on agreed, but he heard it.” We cannot sacrifice building solidarity with other working class people in the name of feeling superior. If we connect to others rather alienate them, we can intervene before they fall into fascism’s hands.
And the comradery was present. A woman came up to them to say she liked what they were doing, and asked if she could be connected. When the protesters left to chant outside, there were job fair goers who joined them. A nearby union protest came a joined the outdoor protest as well. When people stopped by to ask why they were protesting and they were told why, they were disgusted.
Folks had agreed ahead of time that they did not want to get arrested, and would leave at the first warning. This is how protesters were able to continue their protest outside. Folks passed out flyers to let people know what the Congress was complicit in.
Protesters afterward reflected that passersby engaged well when they were giving speeches, and not as much when they were just chanting. People seemed to respond when they accused ICE of human trafficking — agents were at one point offered $200 per head. A good technique is to state why you are protesting every 5 minutes, to inform new passersby of your purpose. Protesters wish they would have brought more noisemakers so they could be disruptive even when they were tired from yelling.
Some protesters wondered if it would have been more effective to disrupt popcorn-style, where one person gets up to chant, gets kicked out, and then a few moments later someone else does the same. Could this have made the protest last longer than 45 minutes? Another idea that was floated was for two or three people to be at the table and to talk to the recruiters as if interested, and just waste their time.
Job fairs tend to not be well protected. A friend who works in hospitality pointed out that free events like this tend to not have high security. While we may be losing the element of surprise, we have momentum and confidence on our side. If you are reading this, you are capable of an action just like this one. Throw as much sand in the gears as possible.
