{"id":1727,"date":"2026-11-11T00:39:22","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T00:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spiritualparent.org\/?p=1727"},"modified":"2026-11-11T00:39:22","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T00:39:22","slug":"choosing-community-over-fear-how-one-chicago-neighborhood-stands-together-amid-immigration-enforcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spiritualparent.org\/?p=1727","title":{"rendered":"Choosing Community Over Fear: How One Chicago Neighborhood Stands Together Amid Immigration Enforcement"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO<\/strong> \u2014 For nine years, the Rev. Hannah Kardon has called Rogers Park home. Situated on the far northern edge of Chicago along the shores of Lake Michigan, the neighborhood represents the longest single place of residence in her life, following a childhood defined by frequent moves. Over nearly a decade, building a genuine, enduring community in Rogers Park has transformed from a transient living situation into one of the defining gifts of her life.<\/p>\n

Walking through the neighborhood often unfolds as a series of warm recognitions. Whether it is hearing a classmate from her child’s school shouting a cheerful "HI ANNABEL\u2019S MOM!" across a grocery aisle, passing the local establishment where she first forged a lasting friendship, or catching the familiar shout of "What\u2019s up, Pastor!" from someone across the street, these everyday encounters feel miraculous. They are moments that continuously prompt both gratitude and surprise.<\/p>\n

Yet, a profound shift has altered the landscape of those daily walks. Alongside the enduring joy of community connection, Kardon and her neighbors are increasingly haunted by painful and angry memories. Recent months have left visible absences in the neighborhood fabric\u2014silences where the voices of missing community members once resonated.<\/p>\n

The Impact of Operation Midway Blitz<\/h3>\n

The catalyst for this sudden devastation came in the form of the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s "Operation Midway Blitz" campaign. Designed to target and terrorize undocumented immigrants and those who stand in solidarity with them, the enforcement surge sent shockwaves across Chicago and its surrounding suburbs, hitting Rogers Park with particular severity.<\/p>\n

\"When<\/figure>\n

The neighborhood\u2019s ordinary routines quickly became sites of trauma. A resident was abducted from the alley directly behind Kardon\u2019s apartment building. A local street corner celebrated for its popular taco vendors transformed into a place of sudden grief after two neighbors were detained during the campaign\u2019s early days, torn away from their families and community while bystanders rushed to the streets north and south in desperate, unsuccessful attempts to intervene. <\/p>\n

Other memories are etched into specific doorsteps, such as the apartment where a local resident frantically called a fellow faith leader, whispering in terror as masked federal agents stalked her doorway. On a single grim day, the neighborhood lost ten individuals to the sudden detentions.<\/p>\n

For months, nearly everyone in the community\u2014much like residents in neighborhoods across Chicago and nationwide\u2014spent their days hiding in fear, mourning those who had been taken, and inventing new, often perilous strategies to protect one another. That atmosphere of anxiety has not entirely vanished. Kardon received notification of another kidnapping just five blocks away on a recent morning, underscoring that the aggressive campaign to disrupt and dismantle immigrant communities remains ongoing.<\/p>\n

Finding Hope in the Face of Fear<\/h3>\n

Navigating a dangerous and hateful present while striving to maintain a life of service requires an active commitment to hope. Drawing on the foundational teachings of her faith, Kardon emphasizes that the ongoing work of survival and the realization of new realities defined by love and liberation demand relentless optimism. This imperative has altered her daily walking routes, transforming ordinary neighborhood blocks into a living map of resilience, resistance, and solidarity.<\/p>\n

\"When<\/figure>\n

Today, her walks include stops at specific intersections that bear witness to both community trauma and extraordinary courage. There is the corner where Rogers Park residents of every conceivable age, profession, culture, and background took turns standing vigil with whistles, ensuring that vulnerable community members felt secure enough to visit the local food pantry. <\/p>\n

There are the sidewalks where parents met up with the children of neighbors\u2014once strangers, now entrusted with the vital task of walking kids home from school when it became too dangerous for their own families to venture outdoors. There is also the physical space outside the church sanctuary where Kardon and her congregation rushed upon hearing warning whistles, raising their voices in prayer and protest in a desperate bid to turn away federal immigration enforcement vehicles.<\/p>\n

That particular day highlighted the deep interconnectedness of the neighborhood. Across the street, another congregation realized that federal agents were waiting outside their doors as services concluded. An urgent distress call rippled through Rogers Park, mobilizing people of diverse religious backgrounds and many with no religious affiliation at all. Neighbors flooded the streets to hold hands, form protective human barriers, escort congregants safely to their cars, and successfully thwart the planned operation.<\/p>\n

The following day, religiously unaffiliated neighborhood organizers reached out via text message, coordinating an effort to map the worship schedules of all at-risk faith communities in the area. Volunteers committed to standing outside houses of worship during every arrival and departure time, ensuring that such targeted intimidation could never happen again.<\/p>\n

\"When<\/figure>\n

A Community Defending Its Own<\/h3>\n

Rogers Park remains marked by the pain and loss inflicted over the past year, a devastation that cannot be erased. At the same time, those very street corners stand as permanent testaments to the character of the community. In the face of intense pressure, ordinary people set aside potential divisions, putting their hearts and bodies on the line to safeguard their neighbors.<\/p>\n

By choosing community over fear and courage over silence, residents rejected a trajectory of exclusion that would see groups forced out one by one until no one was left. For Kardon and her neighbors, this solidarity forms the bedrock of their collective identity. Rogers Park remains a neighborhood where every person holds inherent value, where residents defend one another, and where deliberate efforts to divide are met with an unwavering commitment to stay together.<\/p>\n

Rev. Hannah Kardon<\/h3>\n

Rev. Hannah Kardon serves as the pastor of the United Church of Rogers Park, a United Methodist community located in Chicago. A resident of Rogers Park alongside her husband and two children, she is an avid baker, a frequent patron of the public library, and a familiar face to the neighbors she encounters on her daily walks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO \u2014 For nine years, the Rev. Hannah Kardon has called Rogers Park home. Situated on the far northern edge of Chicago along the shores of Lake Michigan, the neighborhood represents the longest single place of residence in her life, following a childhood defined by frequent moves. Over nearly a decade, building a genuine, enduring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[518],"tags":[869,1457,42,913,2047,520,1452,360,519,522,1736,521,2046,1733],"class_list":["post-1727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interfaith-family-ethics","tag-amid","tag-chicago","tag-choosing","tag-community","tag-enforcement","tag-family-ethics","tag-fear","tag-immigration","tag-interfaith","tag-interfaith-parenting","tag-neighborhood","tag-spiritual-diversity","tag-stands","tag-together"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritualparent.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritualparent.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritualparent.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritualparent.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritualparent.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spiritualparent.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritualparent.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritualparent.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritualparent.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritualparent.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}