Rachel Cohen, a Harvard Law School graduate and former corporate lawyer, has become an unlikely face of resistance in Chicago as the city braces for what officials and advocates are calling the most aggressive immigration enforcement operation in years. Her TikTok videos, which blend practical how-to guides with urgent calls to action, have gone viral in recent days, striking a nerve with residents anxious about the looming presence of federal agents and the potential deployment of the National Guard.
“Come with me to get arrested outside 1930 Beach Street in Broadview,” Cohen begins in one of her videos, standing outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility as vans fill with people being taken from their community. The sound of chains dragging along the pavement, she says, is something she won’t soon forget. According to Block Club Chicago, Cohen’s videos are not just about protest—they’re about demystifying the process of civil disobedience and encouraging Chicagoans to show up for their neighbors in tangible ways.
Cohen’s journey from corporate law to activism was swift and dramatic. She made headlines in March 2025 when she publicly resigned from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, a major Chicago-based law firm, after it and eight other firms pledged a combined $940 million in free legal services to causes backed by President Donald Trump. Cohen’s resignation letter, which she posted on LinkedIn, quickly went viral. “As soon as the first firm offered what I would consider hush money to the Trump administration to get an order withdrawn, I resigned,” Cohen told Block Club Chicago. Instead of immediately joining another firm, she pivoted to contract work and speaking engagements, ultimately dedicating herself to full-time anti-authoritarian organizing.
Her videos, which have garnered tens of thousands of views, walk viewers through resisting ICE—from court-watching downtown to protesting at suburban detention facilities. “If my friends and I are going to do one thing, it’s weaponize our privilege,” Cohen says in one clip. She explains the risks involved in civil disobedience, the protections that groups like the National Lawyers Guild can provide, and how privilege—her own as a white, Harvard-educated woman—can be used to shield more vulnerable community members. “Other people aren’t always able to do that because of the risks,” she told Block Club. “Maybe they’re in mixed-status families, maybe they’re not white, maybe they can’t risk arrest.”
Chicago’s heightened anxiety is not unfounded. On September 5, 2025, the Trump administration announced that Chicago was among its targets for increased ICE enforcement and possible National Guard deployment, according to NPR. More than 200 federal agents are expected to begin operations in and around the city, with a processing center in suburban Broadview serving as the hub and troops stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Base in North Chicago. The operation, officials say, could last up to 45 days, with widespread arrests and raids anticipated.
Governor JB Pritzker has confirmed that agents will be “fully assembled” by the end of the week, though the precise timing of enforcement actions remains unclear. Both he and Mayor Brandon Johnson have pledged that Chicago police will not cooperate with ICE, a sentiment echoed by numerous suburban leaders. Still, advocates and residents worry about the real impact of such a show of force on communities already living in fear.
Those fears deepened after ICE agents were spotted at Cook County’s domestic violence courthouse, where two individuals were taken into custody. The ripple effects have spread beyond the courthouse and into the city’s public life. On September 4, 2025, organizers of El Grito Chicago—a two-day Mexican Independence Day festival in Grant Park expected to draw 25,000 people—announced the event’s cancellation, citing safety concerns amid the threat of immigration raids. “It was a painful decision, but holding El Grito Chicago at this time puts the safety of our community at stake—and that’s a risk we are unwilling to take,” organizers wrote on their website, as reported by Mexico News Daily.
German Gonzalez, the festival’s lead organizer, pointed to racial profiling and the lack of due process for those arrested as key reasons for the cancellation. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker accused Trump aide Stephen Miller, the architect of the crackdown, of deliberately timing the surge to coincide with Mexican Independence Day on September 16. “Let’s be clear: the terror and cruelty is the point, not the safety of anyone living here,” Pritzker said, according to Mexico News Daily.
Chicago is home to one of the nation’s largest Mexican communities, with more than 21% of residents identifying as Mexican, according to U.S. Census data cited by CBS Chicago. The city’s Mexican Independence Day celebrations are a major cultural event, and the loss of El Grito Chicago has been deeply felt. Reyna Torres Mendivil, Mexico’s consul general in Chicago, told the Chicago Tribune that her office supports at least 17 Independence Day celebrations across Illinois and Indiana, though some may now be shifting venues or moving online. Other events, such as the 24th annual Mexican Independence Day Parade in Pilsen, are still planned but with added volunteers to watch for immigration activity and distribute “know your rights” cards.
The sense of unease isn’t limited to the city. Suburban communities like Mundelein, North Chicago, and Waukegan have issued public statements reassuring residents that local law enforcement will not participate in ICE activities. “You are not alone,” read a joint statement from Lake County and North Chicago officials, as reported by the Daily Herald. “Your community stands with you and together we will navigate this moment with care, steadiness and resolve.”
Officials have emphasized that all residents have legal rights regardless of citizenship status and encouraged those in need of support to reach out to trusted organizations such as the North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic and Mano-A-Mano Family Resource Center. In Waukegan, Mayor Sam Cunningham stated that local police would not cooperate with immigration operations and that officers would remain clearly identified in official uniforms, countering reports of federal agents using masks or concealing their identities.
Meanwhile, Aurora’s Fiestas Patrias festival and parade are moving forward, with city employees working to ensure the gatherings are “safe and enjoyable for all.” Hanover Park police have also publicly stated they will not participate in immigration enforcement activities or assist federal agents with immigration-related cases.
For those looking to help but wary of risk, Cohen recommends volunteering with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, which operates a hotline with opportunities for remote involvement. She also highlights Chicago Community Jail Support as a low-risk, accessible way to plug into mutual aid efforts.
As the city stands on the brink of an unprecedented federal immigration crackdown, Cohen’s message resonates: “The biggest barrier is just knowing where to start. Once you meet a few people, you realize you’re not powerless. That’s really the point of the videos: to be one of those people pointing others in the right direction.”
In these tense days, Chicago’s immigrant communities and their allies are drawing on solidarity, resilience, and a deep well of mutual support to weather whatever comes next.
