Congressman García Leads Members in Effort to Halt Relocation of National Archives Facility in Chicago

September 30, 2026 Press Release CHICAGO — Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04) led a letter with 20 members of the U.S. House and Senate to the Archivist of the U.S. Bradford Wilson, expressing strong opposition to the announcement that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) intends to close the regional archive facility and Federal Records Center (FRC) located in the Congressman’s district since the 1970s, despite the enormous significance of this facility and the records stored therein. In the letter, the legislators urge Mr. Wilson to immediately halt the relocation, provide Congress with necessary information about the agency’s plans, and reverse this decision to move the more than 140,000 cubic feet of historical records. The collection stored at this facility includes records related to Abraham Lincoln, Etta James, Fred Hampton, Chicago and Regional History, African American History, the Civil Rights Movement, Native Americans, Immigration and Naturalization, the U.S. Supreme Court, and much more. “This hasty, ill-conceived move would have profoundly harmful consequences. It could restrict access to vital records, including for federal agencies that routinely access them to carry out their mission. It would irreversibly damage staff expertise that has been built for decades around this facility and is inseparable from the collections themselves. It could even damage the records themselves, including the expansive microfilm publications stored there,” state the Members in the letter. “People from across our region and nation visit the facility for many reasons: obtaining census and naturalization records to prove citizenship status, finding information about Great Lakes vessels on which they served, examining genealogy records to identify their ancestors, studying major historical events like the 1894 Pullman Strike and Nuremberg War Crime Trials, and much more,” they added. “The work of agencies, museums, scholars, teachers, and the public continues to depend on access to these records, which are vital to our history and NARA’s mission.” The Organization of American Historians, Council of State Archivists, National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators, Society of American Archivists, Chicago Area Archivists, Illinois State Historical Society, and others have also expressed alarm over the closure of multiple NARA facilities and the lack of planning and consultation with local stakeholders. Congressman García has been leading oversight efforts related to NARA’s facility closures, including by co-leading legislation to prohibit NARA from unilaterally closing its archival facilities. Cosigners of the letter include: Senators Richard Durbin (IL) and Tammy Duckworth (IL), and Representatives Shontel Brown (OH-11), Sean Casten (IL-06), Danny Davis (IL-07), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Bill Foster (IL-11), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-08), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), and Lauren Underwood (IL-14). A copy of the letter can be found here . # # # Issues : Chicago Education Immigration