Donald Trump’s inauguration speech in Little Village: Deportation of criminal aliens from their families in the U.S., or why we’re not here
The last few days have been freezing cold in Chicago, even by local standards. People are bundled up against the cold in a neighborhood called Little Village. At a half empty restaurant on the main street, clips of President Trump’s inauguration ceremony are blasting over some ranchera music.
Every time someone opens the door, a waitress named Caridad looks at her. She said she was scared that it would be ICE agents.
In his inauguration speech President Donald Trump promised to “begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.”
Tom Homan, the border Czar, told CNN that deportation actions are already under way and focus on migrants who are considered a public safety threat. But he warned that all migrants without legal status could also be arrested and deported – especially those living in sanctuary jurisdictions like Chicago, where law enforcement is prohibited from cooperating with federal deportation actions.
Last year, Homan warned Democrats not to interfere. “Help us protect you,” he said during a speech to Chicago Republicans. “If you don’t, get the hell out of the way.”
Immigrants in Little Village: Why we’re here, but what we don’t know how to defend. And what we’ve learned in the last two years
Over the weekend, plans that some immigrants living in Chicago without legal status would be among the first targeted were leaked. The city of about 2.6 million people drew national attention over the last two years, as some 50,000 mostly Venezuelan migrant arrivals tested the city’s ability to respond. The number of arrivals has dropped sharply.
Little Village is a historically Mexican immigrant community. The Little Village Chamber of Commerce says that it is one of the largest commercial corridors in the city. Over 100 restaurants and a thousand businesses are in the area. Her office overlooks some of them. Sparkling quinceañera shops, botanica stores with saints adorning the windows. The corridor is always busy with activity and right now it feels like a ghost town.
Yessenia is a bartender for private events in the city and says that in the last few weeks she and her family made a detailed plan. She asked that her last name not be used because she qualifies for deferral work action and will be threatened by exploitative employers. She worries about becoming a target for removal because her name is in the system.
Caridad says she’s watched anxiety take hold of her community in the days leading up to the inauguration. “It’s more than fear, it’s panic,” she says. Every day she still goes to work, but with a different sense of dread. “In these last few weeks, I get home from work and I thank God I made it.”
If they come in with warrants, then we won’t intervene or support them. But what I can say is that we have worked with community-based organizations as well as other stakeholders, so that the people of Chicago know their rights. This is the part that’s most important. The fear of local police departments giving access to federal agents to disrupt the flow and what we’re doing in Chicago has been removed by allowing people to continue to work, go to school, and use public facilities.
Immigrant advocates have been preparing for months. They have dealt with immigration raids before but they say this one feels different for everyone. Caridad says she feels that across the country, “they hate us. They don’t like us or reject us.
“What we are telling people is we are not running, we are fighting,” says Jorge Mujica, an immigrants rights organizer with the non-profit Arise Chicago. In order to fight, you have to know how to fight. You have to be prepared. It’s necessary to have the famous red card.
Immigration advocates distribute red cards to migrants that can be handed over to ICE agents in the event of a raid. “I am giving you a card because I don’t want to speak with you anymore, even if I did,” the card reads. I have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer your questions. I’ll continue to do my constitutional right even if you arrest me.
Yessenia, an immigrant from Mexico, revisited: “America is not what we are,” she tells her daughter Laura
Yessenia is 37 years old. She’s originally from Mexico. Her two youngest children are US citizens. The family has new rules that require everyone to check in every five hours. “If someone doesn’t report, ask your friends.” If no one has seen the person, start looking on the immigration website,” she explains.
Back at the restaurant, owner Laura (she asked that her last name be withheld because she’s worried about being targeted by raids) says she considered closing. Employees like Caridad asked her not to.
She says staying open has kind of become her line in the sand. The daughter of Mexican immigrants is Laura. “No shame of being an immigrant. People want to put shame upon us. It is not what we are. And it’s not who we are. This is what makes America great. The immigrants.”
Source: Chicago’s immigrant communities brace for immigration crackdowns
The Housewife’s Guide to a Better City: An Empirical Approach to Immigration Reform and the Welfare of the City’s First Citizen
Still, she estimates she’s lost some 30% of her clientele in the last week or so. She hears from people who don’t want to leave the house. At lunch, some people come in. Every time the door is opened, Caridad is alarmed.
She says that she’s too old for the younger staff to run to the kitchen. “I could fall.” And immigration advocates have advised them not to. “It’s worse if you run. I’m not a criminal.
That’s how we create a stronger city and provide a more inclusive economy. In this moment, this president should be focused on that.
“We’ve Done It, and we’re going to Keep Doing it”: A Conversation with Brandon Johnson on Immigrant Residents in Chicago
Johnson said those individuals would be subject to the law. The federal law gives that type of investigation. Remember, this has happened under previous administrations. This is something that has been going on for a long time, whether it’s President Obama or President Biden. I don’t believe that President Trump is trying to cause any fear or tension in this country. And that’s not what we need right now. We need someone who’s going to be committed to standing up for working people. I’m building more affordable homes in Chicago, creating opportunities for young people, and giving them more access to health care, particularly mental health care. And all of those investments have driven crime down in our city.
Johnson was in D.C. with the U.S. Conference of Mayors. And I’ve spoken to the mayor of Denver, spoken to the mayor of Atlanta. And there are certainly mayors who live in red states, who understand that their economy is moved by undocumented individuals. Whether you are in Kansas City or Baltimore, or anywhere else in this country, the contributions that immigrant families have made to our economy is clear.
Johnson: The law that we have passed in Chicago, our welcoming city ordinance, as well as Illinois Trust Act, gives us the authority to ensure that in sensitive places and public accommodations, that there are rights that these individuals have. We’re going to make sure we protect those rights.
Mayor, I know that you have guidelines on how to deal with visitors from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. One thing caught my attention. It read that city employees are not to consent to ICE entering any “private or sensitive locations.” What are the places that are private and sensitive?
Brandon Johnson. I’m very grateful that the city of Chicago has a great love story, a history that we are very proud of. It’s a city that was established by a Black Haitian immigrant, as well as a Pottawattamie woman. And it’s a city that has been built by, again, immigrants, migrants, asylum seekers, Indigenous people, descendants of slaves. I am the mayor of the city of Chicago and have pledged to fight for the Illinois Trust Act as a sanctuary state so that residents’ rights are protected. And we are serving the interests of working people every single day in this beloved city.
Source: Chicago immigrant residents are in Trump’s sights. The mayor says he’ll defend them
Immigrant Rights Against Detention and Deportation in the Presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement: How to Educate Residents About Their Legal Rights
Still, immigrant rights activists have been working to educate local immigrant residents about their legal rights if they are detained or questioned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.