'Justice Journey' bus tour launches from Chicago to defend immigrant rights

Illinois union members launch 'Justice Journey' to stand against ICE

A coalition of Illinois union members and faith leaders are standing with immigrants against ICE.

CHICAGO - A coalition of Illinois union members and faith leaders launched the "Justice Journey" Thursday, standing in solidarity with immigrants and speaking out against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

What we know:

The group is traveling by bus from Chicago to Louisiana, calling for due process for immigration detainees and opposing other controversial Trump-era immigration policies. 

Organizers said the journey will pass through several historic civil rights landmarks along the way. Buses are also departing from Los Angeles, New York, Durham, North Carolina, and Columbia, South Carolina.

At various stops, participants plan to rally against different policies — including advocating for Medicaid in Washington, D.C., hosting a roundtable at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, and marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.

Organizers said freedom isn't optional – it's a right that must be defended across every state.

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What's next:

The coalition has called the effort "the most aggressive campaign" yet to draw national attention to what it calls Trump’s deportation regime.

More than 500 traveling workers and allies are expected to join a culminating rally Tuesday at Lafayette Park in New Orleans.