Illinois residents have been preparing for potential raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The operation is slated to begin Sunday, according to President Donald Trump.

Trump announced upcoming raids on Friday as he prepared to depart Washington for Wisconsin. He said the agency would primarily focus on removing “criminals” and people who entered the country “not through a process (but) just walked over a line.”

The raids could affect around 2,000 families in Chicago and up to nine other cities. Like the raids previously planned for June, agents are expected to target immigrants who already received a notice of deportation.

However, according to The New York Times, the ICE raids could include “collateral” deportations of bystanders near the area, even if they were not originally targeted by the agency.

Originally, Trump declared possible raids via Twitter at the end of June, but later tweeted they had been delayed “two weeks” after facing opposition from Democratic leaders. Last week, he warned deportations could happen “fairly soon.”

Northwestern released a statement addressed to students via email and social media today, signed by Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Julie Payne Kirchmeier. It stated that the University is “committed to protecting the privacy of student educational records.” Without written student consent, Northwestern will not release an individual’s identifying information — including immigration status — except as required by law.

The email also included information about what to do if contacted by federal agents, and listed campus resources at the bottom. Northwestern did not send a campus-wide email when original raids were scheduled in June.

Two years ago, some students protested when a University professor brought an ICE representative to campus as a speaker, cancelling the presentation after demonstrator interruption. Former University spokesman Al Cubbage said it was “disappointing” that students did not allow the representative to speak.

On Friday, Mayor Steve Hagerty released a statement in English and Spanish, reiterating his promise to not provide assistance to ICE agents in case of an Evanston raid. The statement said EPD is unaware of upcoming action this weekend, although there have been “enforcement activities in Evanston without our knowledge or cooperation” in the past.

Hagerty encouraged residents to check the City of Evanston or Evanston Police Department Twitter and Facebook accounts for breaking information, or call the Police non-emergency number.

[Read for more information about Illinois politician responses to June’s planned raids.]

This is a developing story.

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