Michael Guidotti will have his driver’s license on him when he runs the Chicago Marathon, just as he did during every training run since summer.
Michael Guidotti will have his driver’s license on him when he runs the Chicago Marathon, just as he did during every training run since summer.
After the Trump administration escalated its immigration crackdown in the city, runners like Guidotti, 31, are worried they could become a target during Sunday’s race.
“Just knowing that I do come from a Hispanic background and also that I am somewhat darker, and that these individuals do seem to be targeting people of that demographic as well,” Guidotti said. “So it’s just an extra precaution that I’m taking that I have my driver’s license with me at all times.”
Questions have been swirling for weeks over whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents might target the marathon, which draws thousands of runners from around the world each year. Reflecting the unease, event organizers sent an email to participants Wednesday that referred to an immigration “Know Your Rights” page on the city’s website.
An ICE spokeswoman, Tanya Roman, said rumors that agents will be at the race are false.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous to ascertain that ICE would conduct immigration enforcement to intentionally disrupt the Chicago marathon,” she said in a statement. “These are the kind of rumors that fan the flames of dissent and result in unwarranted and dangerous riots like those in Portland, Chicago and Los Angeles.”
When asked whether its officers might target the marathon, Customs and Border Protection, which has also been highly active during the immigration crackdown, was noncommittal, saying that people in the country legally need not worry.
Such assurances might not calm the fears of some participants, though.
Asked last week by a podcaster whether there would be “ICE enforcement” at the Super Bowl in February in California, Kristi Noem, who runs ICE’s and CBP’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, said immigration officers would be “all over” the event.
