Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss spoke to Northwestern students and faculty members gathered in Harris Hall on Tuesday, delving into his experience leading the city amid heightened immigration enforcement and federal pressure.

“It’s a very, very strange and messed up time, and I think it is kind of easy to feel demoralized,” Biss said. “That feeling, while understandable, is death for democracy. I want to model for people that even in a tough time like this, we can make a difference.”

Weinberg’s Department of Political Science hosted the event, centered on a discussion of community activism in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s increased presence, as well as Biss’s congressional campaign. Political science Prof. Jaime Dominguez moderated the event, and Biss also answered questions submitted before the conversation.  

In response to a submitted question about citizens’ reactions to federal immigration enforcement, Biss said he thinks the “worst seems to be over” for ICE activity in Evanston, but said he cannot forget the past few months.   

“The last two months were horrible and unspeakable, but also (ICE was) here before that,” he said. “What we learned during the course of the last few months was that volunteer rapid response networks made a tremendous difference when people can warn folks in danger that federal immigration agents are around… Every time that happens, someone is saved.”

Since early fall, ICE and Customs and Border Protection agents have taken several individuals off the streets of Evanston, as part of ICE’s Operation Midway Blitz, which aims to target undocumented immigrants in the Chicago area.  

In many instances, the Evanston community has stepped up on a local level in response to national issues, including by organizing food drives and mutual aid work to fill the gaps left by federal funding cuts, SNAP benefits and federal immigration enforcement operations, Biss said.  

Biss said these efforts helped protect Evanston residents, but also reflected on the conflict residents and Evanston law enforcement encountered when face-to-face with federal immigration agents. His goal, he said, is to prioritize the safety of the Evanston community, but immigration enforcement complicated this objective.

“We’ve presided over a record decrease in violent crime, and what they are doing is, number one, assaulting people and abducting them. That’s a public safety threat. Number two, they’re creating all these problems that distract our police resources from what they would otherwise be doing,” Biss said. “They’re just systematically making us less safe.” 

Students also asked questions about the mayor’s congressional campaign and how his experience in Evanston politics has prepared him for a congressional role. 

Biss is running to succeed U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston), who will retire at the end of her term. 

“Everything you do, every person you come in contact with, every experience you have, teaches you something about the world, and I want to carry that with me to Congress,” Biss said. “I feel like I’ve learned a lot about how to find ways to collaborate with people who I deeply, viscerally, emotionally disagree with on other things.” 

Dominguez said students should use Biss’s political experience to learn about the inner workings of governance. Through these conversations, he said, students can seek out knowledge about elected officials to stay informed on political happenings.

Pushing for a more informed citizenry is something Dominguez said he has always advocated for.

“You can exercise your right to petition the government,” Dominguez said. “Learn about what people like Daniel Biss and others are doing to help students, be able to further contextualize and assess the situation, so you can have a resolution for your interests.” 

Weinberg senior and Glenview resident Sarah Ordway said she came to hear from Biss because he will be on her ballot in the next primary election. When she sees politicians successfully respond to questions on the fly, Ordway said she feels more confident in their ability to lead. 

Although Ordway wants to be more politically involved, she said she often falls into the trap of making excuses like being too busy or not having enough resources.

“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized when you’re an adult, you have more resources, but you have even more responsibilities,” Ordway said. “It is not as good of an excuse as I thought it was.”

NU in itself, as a part of the Evanston community, is a student resource for civic engagement, Biss said. What makes up Evanston’s unique culture comes directly from being a college town, he said. 

“It’s having so many scholars and people engaged in deep inquiry, asking hard questions and not accepting easy answers, and through that process, creating a kind of intellectual and social community that we are here in Evanston,” Biss said. 

Email: wallisrogin2029@u.northwestern.edu 

X: @wallis_rogin

Email: sarahpark2029@u.northwestern.edu

X: @sarahjoo_park

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