>> Hello and thanks for joining us on Chicago tonight on Brandis Friedman.

Here's what we're looking at.

The Trump administration is trying to strip temporary protected status for Venezuelans and others.

We hear from advocates about the growing legal uncertainty.

>> they can't help myself.

>> Our intrepid reporter Patty, what, Leon, a new way to get your urban nature fix.

>> And for the first time in nearly 100 years, there is open swimming events happening in Chicago River.

What to know about?

That's when.

>> First off tonight as the Department of Homeland Security's Operation Midway Blitz continues.

Immigration activists across Chicago are escalating their own responses.

>> It has been a heartbreaking week and the northwest side on Tuesday, September 16, 5 members of our community were detained as they travel to work.

And yesterday morning Wednesday, September 17th, we experienced widespread ice presence occupying our neighborhoods.

But as ICE continues to patrol our streets, rapid response teams here vowed to do the same.

>> The Northwest Side Rapid response team canvass neighborhoods this morning sharing know your rights information.

Other activists say federal agents have been spotted outside Home Depot and Menards stores in the city and suburbs resulting in individual arrest or folks have been pulled over in traffic stops in response, organizers are passing out orange whistles to alert neighbors when ISIS spotted in some southwest side communities.

Other communities are dispatching volunteers to record video and gather information when arrest happening to notify families.

Some Chicago Board of Education members say the district is failing some of its students in special education and they're looking for answers.

>> One especially troubling issue is that a number of families have been told there is seat availability challenge which has resulted in children whose IEP is have a cluster designation not being assigned to school at all and their families being told to send them to their neighborhood school regardless of whether that school has the staff and resources needed to provide services.

>> The board members say they've heard repeatedly from parents at board meetings that their child hasn't been receiving all of their legally required individualized education plan minutes and that there are major gaps in staffing as well as a lack of availability at schools with cluster programming.

They're asking Chicago Public schools, CEO Macklin King to provide answers at next week's board meeting on how many special education teacher and assistant positions remain unfilled and where they are, as well as how many students are still in need of proper placement and how those iep minutes are being made up.

In a statement late this afternoon, a CPS spokesperson says the district has made improvements this year with fewer gaps in services and fewer staff vacancies.

The state's 11th case of measles has been diagnosed in an unvaccinated suburban child.

The Cook County Health Department confirmed a case as measles continues to increase across the country to the highest level in over 30 years.

Officials say measles is highly contagious and deadly, especially for young children but reminds residents that 2 doses of the measles, mumps, rubella, or MMR vaccine is proven to be 97% effective in present preventing those diseases.

At the same time, a summer uptick in in parks remains steady, though.

Small with 14 new cases since early September alone.

While anyone can get impacts public.

Health officials say this recent increase has primarily affected sexually active and bisexual men up next, how temporary immigration protections for Venezuelans are under threat from the Trump administration.

>> Chicago tonight is made possible in part why the Alexandria and John Nichols family.

The Pope Brothers Foundation.

And the support of these don't.

>> Tens of thousands of local Venezuelans are in legal limbo as the Trump administration attempts to end temporary protected status.

These deportation protections were granted to Venezuelan immigrants in 2021.

2023 and we're extended through October 2026, the Trump administration tried to cut them short earlier this month, but a federal judge blocked that effort allowing the protections to remain the department.

Homeland Security, though, says it is challenging that ruling.

Joining us now are Jeannette Camillo development, assistant and Social Services agency arrow and cleared to trade and immigration attorney at McEntee Long Group.

Thanks to both for joining us.

Clear.

Let's start with you.

Please.

Temporary protected status.

We know it's been through some tumultuous changes this year with these efforts to end it.

Why is this litigation ongoing, especially if you know, temporary protected status is intended to be a short-term designation, right?

It is intended to be short term, but it's supposed to remain while these designated countries are unsafe.

>> These countries have been designated because it's not safe for people to return there because there's maybe a natural disaster.

Maybe there's political issues where people's lives would be at risk if they returned.

So some of these countries have been designated for many, many years decades.

Sometimes.

I mean as well as more recent.

It's, you know, that the issue there is is people, even though it's temporary.

People still built their lives here based on that based on that protection protection from being removed from here.

Jennifer, many work permits.

Other benefits are tied to their temporary protected status.

Tell us more about what some of those protections mean for someone who seeking asylum here.

>> Yeah.

So I think it's important to remember that with TPS.

You are granted work authorization right?

So by getting rid of these TPS for the Venezuelans, then you are putting them at risk of, you know what comes next.

There's a lack of financial stability.

>> Which means it could lead to homelessness.

Head of they support their families.

They will try to seek other services like seeking shelter or other things to consider.

It is like trying to access public benefit.

But you what?

Options are there for them are quite limited in general.

What are some of the other on?

I guess benefits that are that are tied to that status?

The other benefits include, I think just like having.

>> Stability here in the United States.

>> it's something to consider is that, you know, these are mixed status families, right?

You have families where maybe the child is born here and then you have parents who are don't have indications right.

If that's taking a wait that ups and we have to think about what's going to happen to those children.

So there's a lot a lot of going on it within individuals and their families and the community.

So it's thinking about the benefits that are out.

There is just, you know what, what is at Some in the Trump administered Ministration might immigrant are using this temporary protected status to to stay basically as as as a path to citizenship or just to stay in the country.

>> When they really could go home.

What do you say to that?

>> It's important to remember that these families are leaving because it is not safe for that.

There are root causes to immigration.

It could be economic.

It could be political could be in a societal factors.

And so by you can go back, doesn't necessarily guarantee that they go back, it's going to be okay for Anything they're most likely could come back.

Clear if these protections are taking away.

What legal recourse to the beneficiaries of TPS have?

>> It really depends on every percent.

And that's why I advise everybody to who is on Pps to.

>> Seek advice with, you know, I trusted immigration attorney legal service providers and the city because some people may qualify for asylum.

In fact, many people who have TPS, probably Spotify for asylum and need to be aware that there's a one-year deadline.

So they need to make sure they file in time others might not have qualified for something.

Maybe 2 months ago or last year, but now they do because maybe they're Mary, tell us citizen.

So making sure that we reassess the case.

You know, is very, very important right now.

despite what you know, there's litigation happening and so everything is in limbo.

And in order to protect yourself, I really advise people to not to take to actually seek advice and not hide from it.

We do have a statement from the Department of Homeland Security and they say, quote, while these injunctions delay justice and undermine the integrity of our immigration system.

>> Secretary Noem will use every legal option at the department's disposal to end to this chaos and prioritize the safety of Americans under God.

The people rule, unelected activist judges cannot stop the will of the American people for a safe and secure our homeland in the meantime, John, folks are living in sort of like this, this legal limbo.

What does that mean for them?

Well, as I kind of mentioned, there's is ongoing what's going to happen to them?

>> What the next steps are they going to take as kind of mentioned, making sure you seek legal consultation from an immigration attorney or legal services that have could representative?

But yes, there's an ongoing fear.

People don't know what's going to happen, especially with social media, spreading misinformation.

We want to be really careful about that sort misinformation that is being spread.

So that causes a lot of anxiety and people are scared to even go out of their homes.

Goal, you know, take their children to school, you know, go get groceries, simple things like that.

They're living in this sphere and we want to make sure that they know that, you know, they still have rights despite being undocumented department.

Homeland Security has said that the conditions in countries like Haiti and Venezuela have improved so that these protections are needed.

>> Clear.

What do you think that is the case?

Well, if you go on the Department of State Web site at.

>> you see if it's advice for at least American citizens to travel there, it says it is not.

It says do not travel to Venezuela.

It says, I believe reconsider travel to Haiti.

Their security threats there.

So we're seeing that it's not safe for us citizens to travel to these countries.

also we're saying that people from these countries should be safe going back there, that they should be stripped of protections here.

So that they are removed.

You know, like I mean, they've done nothing wrong.

This is not about being a criminal.

This is about.

Immigration.

So that they are removed and go back to danger in places where we don't even let our citizens go.

There's also been a lot of action this week with ICE operations.

Of course, as we were just discussing earlier in the program, ramping up in the city, Jeanette.

What concerns are you hearing from community members about that being sort of another an added layer of concern for them?

>> Yeah, with the community, I mean, kind of what was mentioned.

A lot of people are scared, especially children or even talking about children being scared of what happens if I go to school and my mom or dad deported, you know, this is a fear of like what should we do as a community to make sure we are in form?

There are no you're right, presentations.

these are very important because not only do we tell individuals about their rights, you know, at schools and local neighborhoods are at you know, local organizations, but it also helps them understand what to do if you're confronted with ice, if ice comes to your house, right, what do you do?

We always tell them to remain calm, but it's an ongoing conversation of staying calm and collective understanding what your rights are.

And, you know, people are scared, but we want to reiterate again that we are there for Okay.

That's where we'll have to leave Camillo and cleared to treat.

Thanks to both for joining here.

And we're back with more right after this.

>> There's a reason the city's motto is herbs in town or city in a garden because for city urban nature here is bountiful.

So for all of you, nature lovers out there, our intrepid reporter Patty Whatley is bringing you a new way to get your nature fix.

Petty joins us now to tell us all about this exciting adventure.

Kobe intricate.

Yeah.

and so you've been covering everything from obviously the piping plover is to work district politics for quite some time.

What is changing?

>> So we're giving you yet another way to get your nature coverage.

You know, people they seem to hear on Chicago tonight.

They come to our website.

We do a lot on Instagram here were coming straight to your inbox with nature coverage, nothing but nature.

Every Friday afternoon newsletter.

Lots of extra great content.

That kind of doesn't fit in any of those buckets that I just mentioned, right?

Because he previously had the column.

Of course, that was in our going.

moving and events are moving all of this on Friday.

Really we've by wanted to be like a hub.

community for all my fellow folks who find nature so fascinating and just weird and interesting and just want more of that more than I can maybe produce a digital article on, you know, short news tidbits, just some plain fun stuff like creature feature, where like, here's this weird plant or animal or weird thing about the or animal or, you know, just strange and come across and more opportunity to get some of the patties.

Amazing, And more.

The photos that I obsess of lead that we can here if we follow.

Yeah, there anything that you want viewers and readers to get from this that they maybe weren't getting before?

I mean, I think I want this to be a place that it feels like this is their tribe that, you know, we found our tribe sometimes.

>> Some of this content to there's so much out there, not just need your content content in general and things can get lost.

And here's kind of place where we pull it all together for you come straight to your inbox near.

Don't have to seek it out.

It comes to you.

But I wanted to feel like, you know, this comfortable.

Home where we can all like Duke out over mushrooms.

The other feel sad about a dead over Jake together and know that you're like with people who feel the same way about something that you love a safe space for you and your family been a turn or He said what people have to do to sign up to receive this in their inbox.

Well, some lucky folks got the first issue last week.

If you've got that, you're good to go.

Otherwise, if you want to sign up for you, go to wt tw dot com slash newsletter.

You look for urban nature.

You click.

Add here on the list.

You'll be on it.

If you click on there today, you will get this Friday's.

So all right, good job.

Patty, Congrats on the new newsletter for you tell us all about Thanks, friends and again, you can sign up for Patties.

Urban Nature, Weekly newsletter at W T Tw Dot Com Slash newsletter.

>> Jump in.

The water is fine.

Organizers say hundreds of swimmers will finally finally dive in for the Chicago River Swim this Sunday.

It'll be the first open water swimming event in the river in nearly 100 years.

The last one in 1927. event.

Organizers say they hope the race will wash away public perceptions of the river as being polluted while raising money for ALS research and youth swimming lessons.

Joining us now are Douglas McConnell, co-founder of a Long swim, a local charity that host open water swimming events to bring awareness and funding to ALS research.

Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River and become professional swimmer who represented Team USA on the world stage.

4 times World Pool.

It will a participant in this weekend's race.

Welcome to all the thanks for joining us.

Thank Let's dive in Doug.

I did there near the main organizer of this event.

why a river swim?

>> Well, we were introduced to the idea several years ago when we were notified of a group that does a swim in the canals of Amsterdam.

And we got in touch with the race.

Organizers wonderful guys that have been so so helpful.

as we've been planning the river swam and boy, the more videos they sent us, the more it looked like the Chicago River so we started that was where the idea kind of came from.

And now 13 years later, we're going to be in the river.

>> It only took 13 years.

That's murder.

Last year's event raised $200,000 but had to move from the river to Lake Michigan because of water safety concerns.

What steps has your organization taken to ensure that the river is safe for swimming and obviously working with local agencies on that.

So friends of the Chicago River has been working since 1979 to improve water quality.

Make the river more accessible for people.

Also say for wildlife.

>> And it's really been a series of steps using the rules of the Clean Water Act working with government agencies and partners and making sure that the rivers cleaner that are we're investing in clean water, infrastructure and then making sure that there's public accessible to get into the river and get out of the river.

So we secured a swimming standard for the Chicago River in 2011.

And we've been advocating on behalf of swimmers like Duggan back out to get people on the water ever since.

>> Talk about the river's history and why it was an slow double for so long.

A lot of folks know about Bubbly Creek, which is a South fork of the South branch of the Chicago River.

Yes, that's right.

Brain to swell.

You know, Chicago is really no different than cities all around the world.

Cities were built on rivers.

And as we were developing in growing, we put our waste in our rivers.

And so this is common place all around the entire planet.

Chicago was unique in that we actually reversed our river and connected it to Des Plaines to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico to clean up their lake from our drinking water.

And so we actually designed our river into the sewer system, which is partly why we've had a cultural battle to rethink how we view our river because it took a long time to disabuse people of the fact that it is part of the sewer system.

At this point.

The river is really dramatically cleaner and we know it because we're testing the water quality.

We can measure it in space is a fish which are, you know, they they exist.

If there's a pollution, we've got river otters, turtles, muskrat, all evidence of healthy river.

Back you.

One last year's women's 2 mile distance described like what that was like for you and how you're feeling heading into Sunday.

It was amazing.

I love the Chicago River Summit, such a greater organization because there is money for Allison.

Also teach young kids how to swim, which.

>> It's something that's so important.

Not just because swimming brings so much community to people, but it's a life-saving skill.

So I'm really excited.

from Chicago and the river is one of my favorite staples of the city.

Like I just remember as a kid, you know, going on a boat down the river are watching the river get died on Saint Patrick's Day.

And I'm so excited this woman at because it's it means so much to me.

And it means so much to this whole community to the whole community of swimming in Chicago.

I think it's gonna be a relief and race and just a very meaningful experiences.

Well, you'll also get a view of the city from position that people rarely get.

It's usually on a boat if you're in the river, right?

But for your body to be in the river and looking up at the city going to be very different experience.

surrounded by by the city.

Yes, absolutely.

Very literally.

>> Doug.

The swim is also personal for you with talked about the fundraising part for ALS as well as for youth swimming on.

Tell us how you Trump tied the 2 together.

>> ALS is a disease that hit my family pretty hard.

lost my father Dale last.

And and then one of my sisters was diagnosed and it was really after Ellen was diagnosed that we wanted to do something at having a having a fatal disease and makes you feel powerless and we wanted to feel less powerless.

So I had been a swimmer.

In fact, I started swimming because I was following in her food footsteps did so well certain brain storm led to another.

She came up with the name of a long swim to match the acronym of a And we've had the good fortune of raising 2 and a half million dollars for the med school over at Northwestern and man, Oh, man, the progress they're making.

All right.

All of it sorry to hear about your loss of both you and your father and your sister.

And it's amazing.

You turned it into this.

>> So that most competitive swimming wait races.

They happen mostly in an indoor pool.

And this race, though, it's going to start near the Dearborn Street Bridge and it's going to loop through much of downtown talk a little bit about the differences in swimming between the difference between swimming in open water and trouble.

Yeah.

So I'm both an open water in the pool summer.

>> And I much prefer open water.

I think that there's a sense of adventure to it because you never quite know exactly what you're going to get.

You could get different weather, different variables, people you can your competitors could be in your way because you're trying to you're both trying to get to the most direct route that runs the next Bowie and it just adds a whole other element of adventure and that really appeals to my spirit.

yeah, I'm just really looking forward to it.

And I really want more people to try open water, too, because if you don't like sitting in a pool because you think it's monotonous, you know, like staring at that black line, open water might be the way to go and might be.

The thing for you to do is training for much different, not much different of open water is an endurance sport because the thing about just the 10 K so the only thing that's different it in training in terms of training is, you know, the amount of garbage are doing in the amount of a swimming you have to do in order to be a real quickly fit to complete the 10 K you don't have to back flips at the end of the you don't get that murder.

You've been with friends, the Chicago River for 25 years.

And you've long said that swimmable cities are livable cities.

>> We talked about it.

The river kind of gets a bad rap.

But you see people actually been swimming in the river for a little while, just not getting a permit for it.

>> How important is an event like this?

The kind of establishes a new reputation for the city?

I think it's really key because I think as I said earlier, culturally, we haven't really accepted the river as a recreational resource if you go downtown in the meantime where they're going to be swimming on Sunday, you could practically usually walk across it on kayaks 20 years ago, even 15 years ago.

That wasn't the case.

So we have dramatically changed this river and it's just entirely a different place.

>> And so what we feel like is that if you the whole, you know, the whole world is going to be looking Chicago on Sunday because of this event.

And we have a beautiful city that is a magical place.

And when you see people in the water, you recognize that safe and you recognize that there's an opportunity that this could be happening every Sunday all year round and kids in cities need to have recreation like this.

We know from the climate crisis, people need of doors places to go that are safe and cool and so investing in our river this way and let light shine on it this way is just so exciting 30 seconds left.

The last one happened in 1927.

Hasn't happened since because of the water quality last year.

It was moved to the lake for What's your plan for the future of the Chicago River swim in about 20 seconds?

Well, >> Chicago does big events really well.

And we are hoping that the Chicago River swim can be annual victory lap over the hard work of not only the city of Chicago, friends of the river, other nonprofits and so forth, we'd like to be one of those big events.

Ok, congrats.

Good luck to everybody on Sunday.

Thanks so much, too.

>> That was McConnell market been back a man.

Thanks, everybody.

Thank you.

And that is our show for this Thursday night.

Whether you're heading down to watch the Chicago River, some event on Sunday are looking for something to do in your neighborhood.

Check out our website for our Chicago Festival guide.

That's at W T Tw Dot com slash festivals and join us tomorrow night at 5.37, for the weekend review.

Now for all of us here in Chicago Brandis Friedman, thanks for watching.

Stay healthy and safe and have a good thing.

>> Closed caption Mi Casa by Robert, a cliff and Clifford law offices, Chicago, personal injury and wrongful death that