Chicago is once again at the center of the national debate with a measure that promises to mark a turning point in the relationship between local governments and federal authorities. Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order making the city an “ICE-free zone,” a bold step that seeks to protect immigrant communities and limit the presence of federal agents in public spaces.
Across the country, people are coming together on June 14, not to celebrate but to make their voices heard. In over 1,500 cities, from big metros like New York and Chicago to small towns in between, Americans are participating in the “No Kings” protests—a movement aimed at rejecting authoritarianism and demanding a more just and democratic future.
I don’t live in Los Angeles anymore, but that city raised me. I grew up in a working-class, immigrant neighborhood with a parent doing their best to give me a future. That experience shaped how I see the world — especially what fairness, power, and justice are supposed to mean in America.