It sounds like a bit of poetic justice, street-protest style: there have been widespread reports on social media that activists opposed to mass deportation raids were using trucks loaded with rock salt, which is typically used to clear frozen roads, to obstruct the work of agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the organization that is, of course, known by the acronym ICE.
But, alas, like many things that sound too coincidental to be real, the accounts of activists using something designed to melt ice to stop ICE just aren’t true.
Check out this fact-check from PolitiFact:
No, these salt trucks weren’t trying to stop ICE operations in Chicago
If Your Time Is Short
President Donald Trump has warned Chicago will face a surge in immigration raids, but this video of salt trucks in the streets doesn’t reveal a city plot to stop them. A Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation spokesperson said the department deployed the salt trucks to support public safety efforts related to a planned protest and Taste of Chicago, a culinary event. The spokesperson said this is a routine practice.
See the sources for this fact-check
Chicago has been bracing for a surge in federal immigration raids and a potential National Guard deployment, but social media posts saying the city is fighting back with a salty plan aren’t true.
One TikTok post featuring the song “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” by Gil Scott-Heron shows footage of salt trucks lined up on a street as traffic moves past them.
“Municipal salt trucks form a blockade to keep ICE out of the city,” the video’s caption says.
“In Chicago, city salt trucks and IDOT plows were used overnight to slow traffic and block access points in response to an incoming ICE operation,” the post says. “The effort created a moving wall across major highways including I-294, the Edens, and I-94. Officials described the maneuver as a way to limit federal enforcement actions inside the city.”
Other TikTok and X posts also shared the footage of the salt trucks in the streets of Chicago.
But the trucks weren’t sent by the city to block ICE operations. Chicago regularly uses these trucks to help with safety and traffic flow.
A Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation spokesperson told PolitiFact on Sept. 8 that the department deployed salt trucks to support public safety efforts related to a Sept. 6 planned protest and the Taste of Chicago, an annual culinary event held at Grant Park from Sept. 5 to 7. The spokesperson said the trucks’ deployment is a routine practice. They are typically positioned in places such as intersections to keep vehicles from passing through.
The posts also said the trucks were trying to block and slow traffic across major highways including I-294, the Edens and I-94, but the Chicago Sun-Times reported that didn’t happen.
These posts come after large crowds marched Sept. 6 through downtown Chicago protesting the expected ICE surge.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said ICE told him it would be ramping up operations starting Sept. 6. As many as 300 immigration agents, who are supposed to deploy to Chicago each day, have offices at Naval Station Great Lakes, according to ABC7.
Trump also posted Sept. 6 on Truth Social a parody image of Apocalypse Now, a 1979 action film, showing helicopters and the city in flames with the caption “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of War.” Pritzker replied to Trump’s post, saying Illinois won’t be intimidated.
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, told CNN on Sept. 7 that people can expect immigration action “in most sanctuary cities across the country” this week.
Pritzker and Chicago’s mayor, Brandon Johnson, have opposed Trump’s threats to send immigration agents and the National Guard to Chicago, but this salt truck operation isn’t real.
We rate this claim False.