Viral social media posts over the weekend claimed salt trucks seen blocking roadways in Chicago were being used to deter ICE efforts being ramped up in the city.
But according to city officials, that’s not actually what happened.
According to Chicago’s Department of Streets and Sanitation, salt trucks were deployed over the weekend “to support public safety efforts related to a planned protest and the Taste of Chicago.”
“This is a routine practice,” the department told NBC Chicago in a statement.
Such efforts are not uncommon in Chicago, with similar scenes previously reported during major events and protests, particularly during summer months.
The 2025 Taste of Chicago was held from Friday through Sunday in the city’s popular Grant Park.
At the same time, swarms of people descended on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue Saturday afternoon to protest Trump’s plans to deploy federal troops and ramp up immigration enforcement operations.
Chicago has been on high alert for heightened ICE operations over the weekend, though state officials said it had not yet seen signs of the ramped up efforts as of Monday morning.
President Donald Trump posted on social media about planned “Department of War” efforts in Chicago Saturday, then U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security announced new operations in the city Monday.
The Department of Homeland Security posted on X Monday morning, saying it was launching what it called “Operation Midway Blitz” to “target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois.”
The operation references the death of Katie Abraham, a 20-year-old Glenview woman who was killed in January in Urbana, Illinois, along with a friend by a suspected drunk driver who was believed to be an illegal immigrant and fled the scene of the crash. A Guatemalan national was later arrested by Urbana police and charged in connection with the crash.
Still, the post does not provide any indication of timing nor potential locations that could be targeted.
U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement posted a photo on social media a short time later showing an ICE vehicle with the Chicago skyline behind it.
“CHICAGO: a sanctuary city that attracts and protects criminal illegal aliens to the detriment of law-abiding citizens,” the post read. “In an ICE-led operation, we are here to remove these dangerous public safety threats from American communities.”
As of Monday morning, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office said there has been no communication or coordination from the White House to the governor’s office directly.
An aide to Pritzker told NBC News while they are monitoring reports of some federal law enforcement arrests over the weekend, they have so far seen nothing to suggest the promised surge has begun in Chicago.
On Monday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office confirmed three arrests by ICE took place Sunday in the city’s 14th Ward.
Pritzker has said he is “deeply concerned” that ICE will target Mexican Independence Day in the Chicago area.
“We have reason to believe that Stephen Miller chose the month of September to come to Chicago because of celebrations around Mexican Independence Day that happen here every year,” Pritzker said last week. “It breaks my heart to report that we have been told ICE will try and disrupt community picnics and peaceful parades. Let’s be clear: the terror and cruelty is the point, not the safety of anyone living here.”
Organizers with Chicago’s El Grito festival, a popular Mexican Independence Day event slated for Sept. 13 and 14 in Grant Park, moved to postpone the event due to the concerns.
“This was a painful decision; however, with the heightened political tensions and given our location in downtown Chicago, we need to keep our community safe,” organizer German Gonzalez said in a statement Thursday. “To proceed in spite of the advice we’ve received directly from city and state officials and potentially expose our community to becoming collateral damage would be irresponsible. That’s a risk we are not willing to take.”
The city’s iconic parade, however, remains planned as scheduled.
“The city of Chicago will celebrate the independence of Mexico the way it has done in the past,” Johnson said. “I know the president is working hard to intimidate, I’m not intimidated. No one should be.”
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