Illinois Gov, CPS falsely claim they blocked ICE officers from entering school—it was Secret Service responding to a threat

Chicago Public Schools claimed on Friday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement "showed up" at the Hamline Elementary School to conduct a raid and that teachers kept the agents out of the school. The only problem was that none of it was true. It was later revealed that it was US Secret Service agents, not immigration officers, who went to the school, and they were investigating a threat. ICE told Chicago Public Schools that the agency was not involved.

"We will not open our doors for ICE, and we are here to protect our children and make sure they have access to an excellent education," principal Natasha Ortega said. Another school official confirmed that "CPS will continue to protect our students and their families in alignment with the Illinois TRUST Act and Chicago's Welcoming City Ordinance."

An education reporter for the Chicago Tribune picked up the story, and wrote "CPS confirmed that ICE agents visited Hamline Elementary in Back of the Yards Friday in Chicago." The school serves a mostly Latino population.

Governor JB Pritzker commented on the events of the day, saying "After a week of Republicans sowing fear and chaos, the first reports of raids in Chicago are at an elementary school. Targeting children and separating families is cruel and un-American."

"Literally none of this was true," Fox New reporter Melugin said.

ABC reported that, after the initial reports, that the Secret Service said they "approached a South Side school Friday. Chicago Public Schools officials had initially said the agent or agents were from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Secret Service said they were investigating a threat, and responded to a house. They said they were then told the person they wanted to talk to was at Hamline Elementary School, but they did not enter the school."

Secret Service, per Fox reporter Paris Schutz, "Left their business card with school officials. Not sure how wires got crossed where CPS officials all the way up to the CEO reported that the incident involved ICE agents." Bill Melugin reported that Chicago Public Schools "knew it was Secretly Service, but pushed it as ICE."

Local Alderman Raymond Lopez got into the act, too, saying "Chicago was punk’d, traumatizing an entire community in order to give political hacks, wanna-be’s & the advocacy group complex a performative photo op standing up to Trump. There aren’t enough adjectives in a thesaurus to describe how terrible these folks are."

Deportations have begun in earnest under the new Trump administration. Border Czar Tom Homan has detailed his plan to remove illegal immigrants from the nation and has started with those who have committed crimes or have existing detainer orders for removal. Concerns have been broached that deportations could come to schools. Chicago was one of the places that Homan announced would see the first deportations.