‘Prepared for the worst’: Suburban immigrants brace for mass deportations

As thousands of suburbanites shopped and decorated for Christmas, Cristobal Cavazos and fellow immigrant advocates readied for another anticipated winter event — mass deportations promised by President-elect Donald Trump.

“I take the president at his word,” said Cavazos, coordinator of Immigrant Solidarity DuPage.

Blanca Ramirez, an Immigrant Solidarity DuPage organizer, said there is a lot of fear in the community, especially among families who’ve been in the United States for many years.

“They’re worried, they’re anxious. They don’t know what’s going to happen,” added Dulce Ortiz, executive director of Mano a Mano Family Resource Center in Waukegan.

Trump campaigned on deporting undocumented immigrants, and his border czar Tom Homan has promised Chicago would be ground zero.

“As a guy who spent 34 years deporting illegal aliens, I got a message, to the millions of illegal aliens (President) Joe Biden released in our country in violation of federal law — you better start packing now — because you’re going home,” Homan said at the Republican National Convention in July.

Gabriela Hernandez Chico, an Immigrant Solidarity DuPage organizer, pointed out that Latino essential workers risked their lives in low-paying jobs during COVID-19.

“All the people said, ‘Oh the Latino community are heroes.’ What happened?” she asked.

“The rhetoric and the lies that has been dished out in the immigrant community … every four years it seems like we’re the blunt of all attacks and all that’s wrong,” Cavazos said.

“We’re trying to put all this worry and fear into action,” he added. “This time I really feel that we’re prepared for the worst.”

‘Know your rights’

The Latino community in the suburbs is diverse with many mixed-status families that include citizens, permanent residents and undocumented members, said Dianha Ortega-Ehreth, executive director of Elgin-based Centro de Información.

Besides undocumented individuals, there’s uncertainty about what the new administration will mean for asylum applicants and “Dreamers,” those brought into the U.S. as children and fall under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Multiple advocacy groups are conducting “Know Your Rights” forums across the state.

“We want to equip everybody with knowledge about what their rights are and how they can prepare to make emergency plans for anybody in their families who may be affected,” Ortega-Ehreth said.

Some agencies such as Immigrant Solidarity are preparing legal aid teams and a “rapid response” network to document and stage protests.

Deportations could affect people who have lived in the suburbs for decades and have homes, businesses and kids in schools, Cavazos said.

“These are folks … who are ingrained in communities like Glendale Heights, ingrained in West Chicago, in Carol Stream, in Addison,” he said.

In a “Meet the Press” interview Dec. 8, Trump outlined his latest stance on DACA, saying: “We have to do something about the Dreamers because these are people that have been brought here at a very young age. And many of these are middle-aged people now. They don’t even speak the language of their country.

“I will work with the Democrats on a plan,” he added. “Republicans are very open to the Dreamers. And in many cases, they’ve become successful. They have great jobs.”

But with mass deportations, “I think you have to do it,” Trump said. “It’s a very tough thing to do. But you have rules, regulations, laws — they came in illegally. The people who have been treated very unfairly are the people that have been in line for 10 years (waiting) to come into the country.”

Workplace raids

One likely target of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids will be local factories and other workplaces, which has prompted painful discussions with clients at Mano a Mano, Ortiz said.

“What happens if one or two parents are picked up? Who are the legal guardians of the children? It’s really difficult to ask them to prepare for such events. I wish we could say it may happen — but it will happen.”

Ramirez noted, “we’ve been working so hard to keep this country up. If we go back who’s going to work in the fields? Who’s going to work in the factories?

“If you don’t have people to work in the fields and the factories, you’re not going to have produce in the market.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250104/news/prepared-for-the-worst-suburban-immigrants-brace-for-mass-deportations/