President Donald Trump’s attempt to consolidate federal enforcement agencies into a national, occupying police force has faced growing resistance in Chicago for several months. It’s a tale of escalating overreach and of local revitalization of democratic organizing. People are working together to protect each other and their neighborhoods across Chicagoland. In this they have shown us what sustained resistance to authoritarian encroachment can look like.

While the daily imagery of neighbors standing up to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is a powerful contagion for courage, there is something far deeper at work than just residents blowing whistles and recording arrests.

Chicagoans are feeling compelled to act — engaging by the thousands because the threat to liberty is personal and clear. What needs to happen next is for that collective action to coalesce into a force that tells the next chapter in American history.

Typical of all authoritarian advancements, public justification is built on a pyramid of lies. The foundational lie is that American cities like Chicago have been invaded by dangerous criminals. That these criminal invaders are to blame for our problems and can only be dealt with by militarized federal forces encroaching on the rights of everyday Chicagoans. But, those who call this city home did not buy into the absurd lie that we should go to war with our neighbors. The forceful rejections from Chicago, Memphis, D.C., Portland and L.A. have shaken the hold that MAGA lies have on our country. In every instance they have tried to operationalize the repulsive idea that some human beings should be considered “illegal” and disposable for merely existing, and they failed.

This has forced the Trump administration into a very unfavorable fork in the road regarding Chicago. They can try to double down on the plan of breaking the soul of this city, which would mean sending more ill-trained, occupying forces — an unwise option, considering unpaid neighborhood defense recruitment seems to be outpacing ICE’s, even with their $50,000 signing bonuses. Or, they can take the path of declaring fictitious victory here and retreat to smaller, more vulnerable cities — a risky option for an authoritarian regime reliant on its image of absolute strength. In either choice, the facade of lies will be badly fractured.

We have already seen this in Chicago. Here, a powerful trifecta has emerged: grassroots mobilization, legal and judicial accountability, and local, state and municipal governments coming together in strategy to rout the xenophobic authoritarianism looking to make a permanent occupation of our neighborhoods.

Community organizing and documentation have been combined with a relentless legal strategy to slow and foil the authoritarian maneuvers set on undermining the democratic freedoms of the working people of Chicago. This began by keeping Texas’ National Guard from actively policing our streets. Now, bolstered by the commitment of city and state officials, novel ordinances introduced to protect Chicago businesses from indiscriminate ICE raids and setting up accountability measures that allow Chicagoans to report actively on instances of immigration enforcement that may run afoul of the law.

At the Illinois State Capitol, we are pushing forward critical legislation to protect immigrant communities from harmful federal enforcement actions. On Friday, the House approved legislation banning civil immigration arrests in and around state courthouses. This is only the beginning. Other proposals would designate key spaces — such as health care facilities, day cares, and colleges and universities — as safe locations, ensuring that people can access essential services without fear of ICE intervention.

We are also moving forward proposals that would create a right of action allowing individuals to seek damages when federal officials cause harm to community members, reinforcing accountability and safeguarding civil rights across Illinois.

Meanwhile, organizations such as Protect Rogers Park have trained thousands of Chicagoans to adapt proven grassroots movement tactics: organizing ourselves into neighborhood rapid response networks to protect and support our immigrant neighbors and whistle ICE off our streets.

The broad-based resistance necessary to turn back authoritarian movements and protect democratic rights and freedoms is where liberation thrives, not only for Chicago, but for towns and cities across America. The Department of Homeland Security may have$190 billion in new funding, but they don’t have what they really need, the hearts of the people. And though it may be imperfect, the innovation and organizing coming from the various parts of our great city over the last few months is just beginning to bear fruit.

For those of us who love Chicago, this isn’t the middle or end of our resistance story. We’re just getting started.

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Sen. Graciela Guzmán represents Illinois’ 20th District. Gabe Gonzalez is the head of Protect Rogers Park.

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