Reports that the Trump administration could move quickly to crack down on immigration as early as this week have shaken up some communities in Chicago and other cities.
The timing and location of the targeted arrests are unclear, with Trump's border czar Tom Homan saying by Saturday that “no decisions have been made yet,” but the possibility of a raid could be in Chicago's neighborhood. It's a hot topic in the area. Pilsen and Little Village city leaders said.
“People are afraid,” said the Rev. Emma Lozano, leader of Pilsen's Lincoln Methodist Church, whose congregation includes many Latino families. She said she has moved services online in recent weeks as cautious parishioners try to keep a low profile. Some children do not want to go to school because they are afraid that their parents will be detained when they return home.
Lozano, who has spent decades working in immigrant ministry and sometimes sheltering undocumented immigrants in his church, said he has never felt conditions so dire. “The threat was always there,” Lozano said, “but we feel this is a big deal.”
In the Chicago area, one of the cities mentioned as potential locations for the Trump administration to ramp up its efforts to deport illegal immigrants, activists are raising awareness about their legal rights in case immigration officials visit. They hold meetings to advise people. Families are drafting powers of attorney to help manage issues such as custody and property ownership.
On its website, the nonprofit Illinois Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition urges Illinois residents who are worried about being deported to not open the door for immigration officials and to discuss their immigration status with law enforcement officials. , recommended not to discuss with law enforcement officials. Sign anything you don't understand. The group says families should provide their children's schools with emergency contact information in case a parent is detained.
City Councilman Byron Sigcho-Lopez, whose district includes Pilsen and Little Village, said he has been inundated with calls from families asking whether they should go to work or send their children to school.
“There's a lot of fear and concern about what that means for the families that may be separated,” he said Monday. “Families are scared. The next few weeks will tell us what the federal government can actually do.”
Sigcho-Lopez said it is unclear whether the administration will actually carry out plans to deport large numbers of immigrants or whether it is simply intended to intimidate them.
“We don't want people to live in panic,” he said. “The Trump administration wants to instill fear.”
He said he is talking with other elected officials about strengthening Chicago's “Welcoming City” ordinance, which prohibits law enforcement from enforcing federal immigration laws.
Doris Aguirre, a 59-year-old mother of two from Honduras who has lived in the Chicago area since 2000 and makes a living cleaning homes, said she felt dizzy watching Trump's inauguration.
Aguirre has no legal status in the country and was ordered deported several years ago, he said. She fears being separated from her husband, an American citizen, and her two children, who also have legal status in the United States, she said.
Aguirre, who was recently treated for breast cancer and required regular check-ups and hormone therapy to keep her cancer in remission, said being sent home could have been a death sentence. “I'm disappointed, but I'll be honest,” Aguirre said. “No one will come to help me.”
That fear is not universal among Chicago's immigrants. Some people said the city has been too lenient with some newcomers, especially the tens of thousands of Venezuelans who have arrived in the past few years.
Adriana Atilano, 53, a Mexican-born Pilsen liquor store worker, said many Latinos in Chicago resent Chicago's status as a sanctuary city for undocumented immigrants. He said the majority voted for Trump in November.
“I feel like a lot of people are taking advantage of this system,” said Atilano, a naturalized American citizen who declined to say who she voted for. “They're not coming here to work, but rather to receive benefits while people like us work and pay taxes.”
Rene Cardona, 55, a maintenance worker, said she has mixed feelings about Trump's immigration plan. He said he fears for the safety of his friends and neighbors, who are hard-working undocumented immigrants. “On the other hand, we have people who have come here and committed violent crimes,” he added. “I agree that they should be removed.”
Cardona, who was born in Chicago, said she fears that if immigration raids become routine in the coming months, she will be racially characterized and mistaken for a foreigner. For now, he said he hopes the new administration will strike the right balance.
“I’m a man of faith,” he said. “Like many people, I leave it in the hands of a higher power.”
