People use their phones to record federal agents at an intersection in the Cicero neighborhood in Chicago during an immigration raid on October 22, 2025. Jim Vondruska/Reuters

As Chad Curry busily ferries his teenage children through the streets of their Chicago neighborhood of West Ridge, he eyes passing vehicles with a skepticism he didn’t have just a few months ago.

He knows to carefully clock whether a passing car has darkly tinted windows, out-of-state license plates, or even no plates at all. Some models – Chevy Tahoes, Dodge Chargers, Ford Explorers – give him extra pause. The 52-year-old software consultant also knows what to do if the doors fly open and masked, khaki-clad agents leap out and beeline for one of his neighbors.

After all, he has trained for that very scenario.

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