Immigration agents swept the Chicago area on Jan. 26 and their presence quickly rippled across the city and suburbs, lighting up phone screens with frenzied reports of sightings.
A Hermosa couple hid in their attic when agents were spotted on the street. An agent in an ICE vest walked past homes in South Chicago. Government officials stood in a ring with with geared-up law enforcement in a photo posted to social media. TV personality Phil McGraw even joined in, contributing to the sense of spectacle, even as residents hid in their homes in fear.
The scenes played out in neighborhoods on the North, South and West sides of the city, along the Indiana border and in the suburbs after six days of anticipatory tension following the inauguration of President Donald Trump…