Latest Anti-Trump Hoax: Chicago School District Falsely Claims ICE Came To Elementary Campus
With President Donald Trump following through on his campaign promise to deport illegal immigrants, the media and left-wing politicians have begun a campaign to turn the American people against the administration.
The latest example comes from Chicago Public Schools (CPS), which falsely claimed on Friday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents had shown up at Hamline Elementary School but were denied entrance, ABC 7 reported. The federal officials were actually from the U.S. Secret Service and investigating a threat.
Before the truth came out – and even after – Democrats accused the Trump administration of conducting “raids” on elementary schools. Hamline Elementary School principal Natasha Ortega released a statement saying, “We will not open our doors for ICE, and we are here to protect our children and make sure they have access to an excellent education.”
Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker repeated the false accusation on X, calling the situation “cruel” even though it never happened.
“After a week of Republicans sowing fear and chaos, the first reports of raids in Chicago are at an elementary school,” Pritzker posted. “Targeting children and separating families is cruel and un-American.”
Alderman Raymond Lopez justified the false information after it was revealed ICE wasn’t involved by saying, “This scenario is precisely what I was fighting so hard to avoid with my colleagues on the City Council this past month: giving immigration officials an excuse to come into our communities.”
Fox News’ Bill Melugin noted that it appeared no one spreading the false information had reached out to the Department of Homeland Security or ICE, saying that both denied that ICE agents came to the school or were even in the area.
In an updated announcement issued after the initial false claims spread, CPS admitted that it was Secret Service agents who had come to the school. School officials said they assumed the agents were from ICE because their identification showed they were part of the Department of Homeland Security – which also oversees the Secret Service.
“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,” CPS said in a statement published by ABC 7.
Secret Service told the outlet they were investigating a threat and had gone to a house, where they were told the person they were looking for was at the elementary school.
Chicago Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson noted after the truth came out that it is “imperative that individuals not spread unverified information that sparks fear across the city.”
Trump has barely been in office for a week, but the Left has already attempted to manufacture disapproval of the policies that got him elected. On the day of his inauguration, media outlets shared a video of a woman at the border supposedly crying because she could not gain asylum by illegally crossing the border.
So far, ICE has arrested 1,300 illegal immigrants, Border Czar Tom Homan told NewsNation host Chris Cuomo.
“Over a thousand of them are criminals. Who are the other ones? They’re either fugitives who’ve been through immigration court, have been ordered to be removed but didn’t, became a fugitive, or collaterals,” Homan told the host. “Look, I said from day one, no one’s off the table. If you’re in the United States illegally, you’ve got a problem. But we are concentrating on public safety threats first. That just makes sense.”