Rally in McHenry on Saturday protests against ICE detention centers

More than 100 people gathered Saturday along Route 31 in McHenry to protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s use of warehouses as detention centers.

The anti-ICE protest, called “Communities Not Cages,” was part of a nationwide day of action “to oppose the Trump administration’s expansion of ICE warehouse detention centers and its attack on the due process rights of immigrants and all Americans,” according to an Indivisible McHenry County news release.

The turnout at the corner of Route 31 and McCullom Lake Road was modest compared with other protests hosted by Indivisible McHenry County, which can draw triple the number. This was its fourth rally of the year, and two more are already scheduled.

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A car drives by protesters lined up along Route 31 in McHenry, donning signs and flags against President Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement on April 25, 2026. (Michelle Meyer)

“They’re here because they feel very strongly,” Indivisible McHenry County communications lead Sue Rose said. “They come out here on a Saturday ... when there are so many other fun things they could be doing. It says a lot about their dedication.”

The nationwide movement was organized by the Disappeared In America campaign. Only six were scheduled in Illinois, including DeKalb and Elgin.

Rose said she’s expecting many more protesters to join the next rally for May Day on Friday. That protest, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the same location, also calls for people to boycott recent Trump administration actions by not shopping, working or going to school.

So far, immigration officials have spent $1.074 billion for 11 warehouses, The Associated Press reported. After Kristi Noem was fired, new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, earlier this month, began reviewing ongoing plans to transform warehouses across the country into detention facilities for tens of thousands of immigrants.

Those plans have faced fierce public opposition. Days after Mullin was sworn in, the Department of Homeland Security paused the purchase of new warehouses intended to house immigrants.

Illinois is protected in certain aspects of immigration detention. The Illinois TRUST Act prohibits state and local law enforcement from assisting ICE agents and from ICE agents using local police facilities. The Illinois Way Forward Act also prohibits local agencies from signing contracts to detain immigrants.

But the state was subject to agents entering Chicago and surrounding areas as part of a mass immigration enforcement campaign called Operation Midway Blitz last fall. The federal detention center in Broadview drew in dozens of protests and national attention.

Another house bill is working its way to the governor’s desk that would prohibit any detention center from operating within 1,500 feet of a school, day care center, cemetery, public park, forest preserve, public housing, private residence or place of religious worship.

Closer to McHenry County, there were reports of ICE showing up at schools and neighborhoods in Elgin and Carpentersville. One raid in Elgin was attended by now former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem herself.

An arrest by Homeland Security agents involving smashing car windows took place at the McHenry County Courthouse in November.

Saturday’s rally was one of many anti-ICE protests in McHenry County. It follows numerous high school students walking out of class and a similar rally held by Indivisible McHenry County in February.