‘Get Down! Get Down! They’re Gonna See Us!’: Six Months of Hiding From ICE
March 26, 2026 at 03:59PMMaddy Crowell’s Wired feature reveals Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids as a force multiplier for the hardships already confronted by immigrants and asylum seekers in the United States. Sam and Ava moved their family to Chicago, where they applied for Temporary Protected Status, found steady employment, and secured special-needs support for their daughter. Six months of ICE surveillance and raids intensified the vulnerable family’s struggle, prompting job loss and delaying crucial medical care for both parents. A crucial story told from the vantage point of those directly affected by recent immigration raids—and still just a drop of the collective terror faced by immigrants in America.
One day, in January, Sam was at work when a sharp piece of plastic flew from a machine and lodged in his eye. When he came home that night, his eye was swollen, and he had a lump on his eyeball. A white dot obstructed his vision. Ava urged him to go to the hospital, but he refused; he was too scared. What if ICE was lurking at the parking lot or in the lobby? If he got deported, what would the family do? For two days, he didn’t go to work. He lay in bed, hoping it would heal. But the pain in his eye was excruciating and had started to extend deep into his skull. They began to fear he might lose his sight.
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2026/03/26/chicago-ice-raids-six-months-hiding/
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