The Chicago News Guild
Call the Chicago National Lawyers Guild if you are detained:
872-465-4244
TRO SECTIONS
Cheat Sheet
​Here are the most relevant sections of the temporary restraining order.
If you see the TRO being violated, contact Andy Grimm or Emily Steelhammer immediately.
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1a. ICE cannot disperse, arrest, threaten to arrest, threaten or use physical force against anyone they know or reasonably should know is a Journalist, unless they have probable cause to believe that you have committed a crime. You can be ordered to change location to avoid disrupting law enforcement- as long as you have a reasonable amount of time to comply and a reasonable opportunity to report and observe.
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1. It is hereby ORDERED that Defendants, their officers, agents, assigns, and all persons acting in concert with them (hereafter referred to as “Federal Agents”), are temporarily ENJOINED in this judicial district from:
1a. Dispersing, arresting, threatening to arrest, threatening or using physical force against any person whom they know or reasonably should know is a Journalist, unless Defendants have probable cause to believe that the individual has committed a crime. Defendants may order a Journalist to change location to avoid disrupting law enforcement, as long as the Journalist has an objectively reasonable time to comply and an objectively reasonable opportunity to report and observe;
1k. Acceptable identification: press pass, badge, or credentials, distinctive clothing or patches that identify you as a member of the press, carrying professional gear such as professional photographic or videography equipment. Other indication that you are a Journalist under this Order include standing off to the side of a protest, not engaging in chanting, sign holding, shouting slogans, or otherwise protesting, and documenting protest activities. ICE is not liable for unintentional violations of this Order if you are not wearing identification.
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1k. To facilitate the Defendants’ identification of Journalists protected under this Order, the following are examples of indicia of being a Journalist: visual identification as a member of the press, such as by carrying a professional press pass, badge or credentials; wearing distinctive clothing or patches that identify the wearer as a member of the press; or carrying professional gear such as professional photographic or videography equipment. Other indicia of being a Journalist under this Order include that the person is standing off to the side of a protest, not engaging in chanting, sign holding, shouting slogans, or otherwise protesting, and documenting protest activities, although these are not requirements. These indicia are illustrative, and a person need not exhibit every indicium to be considered a Journalist under this Order. Defendants shall not be liable for unintentional violations of this Order in the case of an individual who does not wear a press pass, badge, or other official press credential, professional gear, or distinctive clothing that identifies the person as a member of the press.
1l. ICE is not liable if you are incidentally exposed to crowd control devices if they are using it in a manner that complies with this injunction. Be careful, wear protective gear, and keep your union reps on speed dial!
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1l. Defendants shall not be liable for violating this injunction if a protester, journalist, or religious practitioner is incidentally exposed to crowd control devices, chemical dispersal agents, or physical force if such device or force was used in a manner that complies with this injunction.
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TRO GRANTED
October 9, 2025
Hey, Chicago Guild!
Today, a federal judge entered an order barring Department of Homeland Security agents (like Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs & Border Patrol) from using force against journalists, as well against protesters who don’t pose a threat to agents.
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It’s important to note that this applies to the actions of DHS agents (again, ICE, Border Patrol, and other branches of DHS) in the entire Northern District of Illinois, which includes all of the Chicago area– not just Broadview.
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This is good news, and it would not have happened if we had not stood up for our members alongside the unionized journalists of NABET Local 41, the Chicago Headline Club, Block Club Chicago and others in a federal lawsuit. You can read a copy of the lawsuit and the restraining order here. It's also worth noting that a federal judge in Los Angeles issued a similar order last month, in response to a lawsuit that was brought by press organizations and our union family at Media Guild of the West.
Joining the lawsuit was a step we had to take after weeks of our members being targeted by DHS agents, who were indiscriminately throwing tear gas canisters at groups of journalists, pelting them with pepper balls and rubber bullets, threatening and even arresting reporters. The judge’s order will remain in effect until a permanent injunction is put in place, which will take weeks or months to do. We will keep you posted.
Just like any court order, we will have to enforce it. If you are hit with pepper balls, harassed by DHS agents, tear gassed, hit with rubber bullets, threatened, grabbed, hit— basically if you are subjected to any force or intimidation while just doing your job, anywhere in the Chicago area– let us know IMMEDIATELY. Contact your steward or unit chair, or email me.
During a hearing on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis made it clear to the government that members of the press are fairly easy to identify, even at a distance: we wear press credentials openly, we often have on gear marked with “PRESS”, we’re carrying professional-grade equipment. Most importantly, she noted we aren’t doing anything remotely threatening: we are holding out microphones and cameras, we are writing in notebooks.
So, continue to identify yourself by wearing your credentials, mark your equipment and ask your employers for appropriate protective gear. Most of us have helmets and masks, but your employer should be providing or reimbursing you for goggles. Given the number of times our members have been hit with pellets and rubber bullets, don’t be afraid to ask for a “stab vest” or other protection for your body. If any request for this kind of gear is denied, let us know immediately.
And it is our job to stand up for each other, to protect our members and the essential work that we do. Of all the news outlets that have sent journalists to the Broadview facility, Block Club was the only media organization that signed on to the lawsuit. The Illinois Press Association, made up of newspaper publishers and some broadcasters from across the state, signed up for the lawsuit and almost immediately dropped out of the case. The IPA executive director resigned the same day.
Finally, be proud that we stood up for ourselves and our fellow journalists. What has been happening in Broadview is not safe. It was not safe for our members, and it was not safe for our democracy to have journalists targeted for doing their jobs and reporting the news.
If you have any questions about the lawsuit, please reach out to me at president@chicagonewsguild.org.
Be safe.
Solidarity,
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Andy Grimm
President, Chicago News Guild Local 34071
Our ICE statement - October 6, 2025
Good morning, Chicago News Guild Members,
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Guild members each day do the hard and sometimes dangerous work of reporting the news in our region. The past few weeks, the repeated clashes between protestors and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the ICE facility in Broadview has been one of the top headlines, and our members are the ones doing the reporting.
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As a labor union, we fight to protect the health and safety of our members and their right to do the essential work of reporting the news. The Chicago News Guild has joined a lawsuit, filed this morning in federal court, to stop the targeting of our members and other journalists by ICE agents and other Department of Homeland Security agents in Broadview. We proudly stand strong with our fellow union journalists at NABET Local 41, the Chicago Headline Club, and Block Club Chicago.
Our move comes after NewsGuild members in Los Angeles filed a similar lawsuit in June. There, DHS agents displayed a similar pattern of targeting journalists with rubber bullets and “pepper balls.” They fired a rubber bullet at a Guild member who was struck in the head. That litigation, joined by the ACLU of Southern California and SoCal Press Association, resulted in a preliminary injunction barring DHS from firing projectiles at journalists or protesters who don’t pose a threat to agents.
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Our members have been repeatedly targeted by ICE agents in Broadview. Agents have fired rubber bullets and chemical agents at Guild journalists, regardless of their proximity to protesters. Our members have been threatened, physically assaulted, injured, and subjected to arrest just for doing their jobs. These actions are clearly intended to intimidate and deter press from being on the scene to witness and report on what is happening at the detention facility.
As journalists, we accept the fact that we face risks when we get close to potentially violent encounters at protests and demonstrations. We do not accept that our role as journalists puts us at greater risk because we are singled out as targets. The pattern of behavior by ICE agents in Broadview threatens the health and safety of our members, and our ability to do our work without fear.
Here is a link to copies of the complaint and draft restraining order​.
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In solidarity,
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Andy Grimm
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President, Chicago News Guild Local 34071