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Secret Service Agents — Not ICE — Denied Entry At Chicago School [1]

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Date: 2025-01-24

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new information correcting earlier information provided by CPS officials.

BACK OF THE YARDS – U.S. Secret Service agents – not Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents — arrived at a CPS elementary school in Back of the Yards Friday but were turned away by school administrators, officials said.

Secret Service agents from the Chicago Field Office were investigating a threat made against “a government official” protected by the federal agency, said Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications of the United States Secret Service, in an emailed statement. The agents first visited a home in a local neighborhood and then “made a visit” to Hamline Elementary School, he said.

Chicago Public Schools officials initially reported that ICE agents were turned away at Hamline Elementary School, 1548 W. 48th St., Friday morning. A spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement denied the agency visited the school Friday afternoon, according to the Sun-Times. Instead, the U.S. Secret Service said that it was actually its agents who visited the school.

“Agents identified themselves to the school principal and provided business cards with their contact information. The agents left without incident,” Guglielmi said.

Guglielmi did not provide additional details on the investigation but said the agency does not investigate nor enforce immigration laws.

Federal agents arrived at the school as they were searching for an 11-year-old who posted an anti-Trump video, according to a CPS source. Agents had visited a home and were told the person was a student at Hamline, the source said.

Listen 🎧 Trump Deportations Starting In Chicago

The principal said school administrators followed protocols and did not allow the agents inside the school.

Late Friday, a Chicago Public Schools spokesperson clarified in an emailed statement that its original description of ICE agents showing up at Hamline was “a result of a misunderstanding, reflective of the fear and concerns in the community amid the new administration’s focus on undocumented immigrants.”

CPS said that the two agents showed up at the school door and presented identification that included the name Department of Homeland Security, which oversees both ICE and the Secret Service. CPS said that school officials “proceeded to respond to the agents with the understanding that they were from ICE, amid rumors and reports that the agency was in the community.”

CPS said that school officials followed established protocols by not allowing the agents into the school and prohibiting them from speaking with staff or students. Hamline administrators also worked with the district’s Law Department and Office of Safety and Security,” according to the spokesperson.

“While this was a misunderstanding in terms of the specific branch of DHS, the school’s response demonstrates that our system, in partnership with community organizations, is prepared and ready to keep our students and staff safe,” the CPS statement read.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, in a statement posted on social media late Friday, added: “While people across the city are worried about heightened immigration enforcement, it is imperative that individuals not spread unverified information that sparks fear across the city.”

Students and staff inside the school were safe during the encounter, officials said. More than 90 percent of Hamline’s students are Latino and about two-thirds are English learners, according to district data.

“They kept the … agents outside of the school and contacted CPS’ Law Department and CPS’ Office of Safety and Security for further guidance,” CPS spokesperson Mary Ann Fergus said in an emailed statement.

Agents “were not permitted to speak to any students or staff,” Fergus said. “Teaching and learning continued throughout the day at Hamline.”

Students leave Hamline Elementary School at Back of the Yards Friday after school. Credit: Abel Uribe/Block Club Chicago

Hamline Elementary School Principal Natasha Ortega said the school’s security and clerks followed the district’s protocols.

“Due to that, we were able to ensure the safety of our school and all of our students,” Ortega said.

Hamline Elementary School Principal Natasha Ortega speaks at a press conference Friday afternoon at the school in Back of the Yards. Credit: Chicago Public Schools livestream

Chicago’s welcoming city status, also known as sanctuary city status, has been at the center of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation threats. Last month, Trump’s hand-picked “border czar” Tom Homan said his mass deportation efforts will “start right here in Chicago” as he threatened local officials to open the city and its county jail to the will of federal immigration agents.

Earlier this week, Chicago Public Schools said it would not allow ICE agents access to schools and facilities “unless they produce a criminal judicial warrant signed by a federal judge,” as outlined in its policies. School officials won’t allow ICE agents access based on administrative warrants, ICE detainers” or other document issued by an agency enforcing civil immigration law,” officials said.

RELATED: Trump Deportations Could Start In Chicago Tuesday, Reports Say. The City’s Immigrants Are Preparing

The district will also host 25 know-your-rights trainings across the school district in the coming days, said Fanny Diego Alvarez, chief officer for CPS’ Office of Family and Community Engagement.

Parents can view Chicago Public Schools’ guidelines here. This webpage will be updated frequently to provide the most current information, school officials said.

Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:

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[1] Url: https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/01/24/ice-agents-denied-entry-at-cps-school-in-back-of-the-yards/

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