ABC7 in Chicago is taking heavy fire online after a Tuesday night broadcast where field reporter Michelle Gallardo spoke with Hispanic community activists who were given airtime to advise illegal immigrants to not open their doors for U.S. Customs and Immigration officers if they come knocking. The coverage drew a swift rebuke as commentators accused the ABC affiliate of aiding and abetting criminal behavior.
“Chicago’s immigrant community is on edge tonight as Michelle Gallardo reports, activists and elected officials are canvassing neighborhoods, letting people know their rights should ICE come knocking – don’t open for ICE,” news anchor Cheryl Burton said before cutting to Gallardo.
The field reporter then played interviews and b-roll where she spoke with local business owners who had plastered their establishments with posters stating “don’t open for ICE,” thereby preventing them from accidentally giving immigration authorities permission to enter their homes and conduct a search.
The Daily Mail spotlighted some of the most outraged reactions by social media users.
“Imagine if Chicago had an unbiased media that served the interests of the public not the interests of the WOKE Democrats who it carries water for,” one user wrote on X. “HOW IS THIS ALLOWED?? They are here ILLEGALLY,” another user wrote.
“What rights should illegal aliens have?” another added. “Doesn’t this make her an accessory? Or something of that nature? Send her to jail,” wrote another. “Things will not get cleaned up until there are consequences for choices media are responsible for where they point their cameras and what comes out of their mouth.”
Under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Tuesday, “sensitive” establishments like schools and churches are now fair game for ICE agents to enter as they seek to pull dangerous illegal immigrant criminals off the street as well as any “collateral” pickups that come with their deployments.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense,” a spokesperson with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security told ABC7.
Across Chicago this week, liberal members of the Chicago Teachers Union, as well as left-leaning religious leaders, told Gallardo they are “preparing” to shield their children and parishioners from ICE activities as best they can.
“We started attending know your rights training so that we could know how to defend ourselves and our students, if anyone tries to, if ICE tries to communicate with us or potentially detain somebody,” Erin, a Chicago Public Schools teacher, explained.
“People need to stick together, no matter their immigration status,” business owner Jose Luis Vasquez said about the “don’t open for ICE” posters popping up across his Little Village neighborhood.
Other immigrant rights activists told the ABC affiliate they are prepared to endure sub-zero temperatures for long periods of time if it means they can warn ICE to stay out of their communities.
‘We’ve been out here since 5 am, educating the community, educating our people that they have rights. You have the right to an attorney. You have a right to a trial,’ Baltazar Enriquez, a member of Little Village Community Council, said.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, a liberal Democrat rumored to be weighing a 2028 presidential bid, said ICE has “not communicated” with his administration, but he has reason to believe the number of dangerous illegal individuals on the streets of Chicago is higher than originally believed.
“They’ve not communicated with us, so we don’t know when exactly those enforcement actions might take place. We have heard that they’re targeting as many as 2,000 people initially in the city of Chicago alone,” Pritzker said.
