Immigration activists hold protest in Pilsen against President-elect Trump's deportation plans

Michelle Gallardo Image
Monday, January 13, 2025
Chicago immigration activists protest Trump's deportation plans
Chicago immigration activists held a protest Sunday in Pilsen against President-elect Donald Trump's proposed mass deportation plan.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A protest was held by immigration activists Sunday on Chicago's Southwest Side.

They are seeking to call attention to and educate people on the promises made by the incoming Trump administration to begin mass deportations of undocumented immigrants starting on day one.

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The intersection of 18th Street, Blue Island and Loomis in Pilsen is a symbolic one in the predominantly Mexican neighborhood. It is where dozens of people came out to protest Donald Trump's immigration policies a week and one day before he takes office for the second time as president of the United States.

"His border czar Tom Homan came to Chicago and said he's going to start deporting people on day one," activist Yesenia Puebla said.

It is a promise, President-elect Trump made over and over while on the campaign trail.

"On day one, I will launch the largest deportations of criminal program in American history," Trump said.

And it is that promise, to deport the more than 11 million people who reside in the country illegally, that led both to Sunday's protest in Pilsen, and to a workshop in Waukegan. Following services at United Giving Hope, an immigration attorney was on hand with advice for those who are undocumented immigrants.

"To avoid an expedited removal they should always carry evidence that they have lived inside the U.S. for more than two years," immigration attorney Rosalba Piña.

Education, not fear, is the message activists are trying to promote. Chief among them Sunday was Elvira Arellano, a woman who 22 years ago gained national headlines when following her arrest for working at O'Hare Airport without documents. She took refuge inside Pilsen's United Methodist Church to avoid being deported and separated from her young son. Today, he is all grown up.

"I started fighting 22 years ago," Arellano said in Spanish. "I haven't tired of it yet. I haven't lost hope that something that can be done to help all of us."

Others, however, believe there can be a middle ground. In City Council, two conservative Latino alders, Silvana Tabares and Ray Lopez, are seeking to amend Chicago's Welcoming City Ordinance to allow Chicago police to work with ICE to weed out undocumented immigrants who are charged with human trafficking and other violent crimes. They argue that by helping the Trump administration to fulfill their stated goal of deporting criminals, that will protect others.

"If turning over one or two bad apples keeps thousands safe, it seems to be a no-brainer for me," Lopez said.

It is a proposal opposed by those protesting in Pilsen, including 25th Ward Alderman Byron Sigcho Lopez.

"It's unconscionable that we have members of the city council that are taking steps to, quote unquote, collaborate with the Trump Administration," Sigcho Lopez said.

Pro-immigration activists are not done yet. A much larger scale protest is being planned for January 20, set to coincide with President Trump taking office.

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