Trump’s Threats Are Nothing New, Yet We Remain Vigilant
Trump’s Threats Are Nothing New, Yet We Remain Vigilant
Our communities have seen the Trump White House issue mass deportation threats before and the most recent announcement is no different. Peddling fear and threatening immigrant communities strictly for political gain has been and continues to be empty, reckless, and insulting.
Because we are engaged, informed, and resilient communities, we have helped build firewalls against ongoing threats by the Trump administration, including: fighting for and winning the Illinois TRUST Act in 2017, which limits local law enforcement cooperation with ICE arrests and deportations; winning the VOICES Act in 2018 to better protect immigrant crime survivors and the Anti-Registry Program Act to guard against initiatives that breed discrimination. And this year, we expect Gov. Pritzker to sign the Private Detention Facility Moratorium Act and the Keep Immigrant Families Together Act into law, both of which strengthen safeguards against inhumane family separation, detention and deportation.
We expect our local law enforcement agencies to honor the letter and spirit of these laws, respect our families and neighborhoods, and uphold public safety for all by not cooperating with any mass deportation effort from this or any other federal administration.
In Chicago, as members of the Chicago Immigrant Working Group, we have been working with Mayor Lightfoot’s office and City Council to expand protections to Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance. The ordinance bars Chicago police and other city agencies and employees from arresting or holding anyone based on immigration status. We are working with the Mayor and City Council to strengthen the ordinance by removing previous exceptions in the first 100 days of Mayor Lightfoot’s administration--these amendments will ensure that all city residents are protected under the ordinance without exclusion.
Our community organizations are also on the ground every day helping immigrants become citizens, including the more than 130,000 that our New Americans Initiative have helped. And every day, we’re assisting community members with Know Your Rights trainings, hotline assistance, and more, in response to ICE raids and deportation threats.
We stand together in Chicago and across Illinois as we stand with all our partners and communities across the nation against fear and hate, which is why we will not be distracted or deterred. We will continue to provide critical services, we will continue to push for legislation that lift up the communities we serve, and we will call for more just and humane policies that are grounded in dignity and respect
In the meantime, it’s important to remain vigilant and we are prepared to respond should there be an increase in ICE activity in Illinois. As a reminder:
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Our Know Your Rights toolkit is available for your use.
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If you or someone you know experiences an ICE raid, please call 1-855- HELP- MY-FAMILY or 1-855-435-7693 immediately and report it. Check out Organized Communities Against Deportations IS IT A RAID? infographic for more information on how to identify and report immigration activity.
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There are rapid response teams throughout the state ready to protect our communities. If you are already part of a local rapid response team, or would like support in developing one, please contact Evelyn Venegas at evenegas@icirr.org.
There are three immediate things you can do if you are experiencing ICE enforcement activity:
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If an ICE agent knocks on your door, DO NOT OPEN IT! Law enforcement agents must have a warrant signed by a judge to require you to open your door.
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Record, document and share any ICE activity in your community. Take pictures, use video, get as much information as you can and send it to fsn@icirr.org. For information on how to safely record ICE activity CLICK HERE
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Contact your elected officials and community leaders. Giving local officials and community leaders a “heads up” and getting statements in opposition to these raids is critical.
Get Involved, Get in Touch!
To find out more about what you can do to push back against the deportation machine, build immigrant and refugee power and to advance immigrant and refugee friendly policies at the local, state and federal level, please contact us at ICIRR at info@icirr.org.
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