An immigrant rights march was held this weekend in Elgin. It comes on the heels of local reports that federal agents took a man into custody who did not have a criminal history, according to his family.
Jacqueline Rios was among several hundreds of Latinos who marched in downtown Elgin calling for an end to President Trump’s mass deportation program.
“What brings me and everybody else here is we're demanding that we all get the same rights," Rios said. "We're all hard working. Everybody who comes here is hard working. It's not okay what's happening.”
The march was organized by Solidaridad DuPage, or Immigrant Solidarity DuPage, and other grassroots groups to call for an end to ICE raids.
Similar marches were held over the weekend across the country.
For many marching, Trump’s actions have hit home locally, including for Jenny.
“I come from immigrant parents, and that really triggers me,” she told WNIJ.
Meanwhile, Jennifer carried a sign that read “Families Belong Together.”
“Trump has to stop deporting families and people, because we are not immigrants," she said. "No human is immigrant.”
She said her mom and dad are who she has on top of her mind as she marches.
“I'm speaking for my parents and for the people who can't speak up," Jennifer told WNIJ. "We are the voice for them. I want to cry. I am a daughter of proud immigrant parents, and I am never going to stay quiet for them.”
Immigration officials like Tom Homan have touted that Illinois will be a target for deportation efforts.
The march in Elgin took place just days after reports that federal agents took a man into custody who did not have legal status. His family say Raul Lopez did not have a criminal record and has lived in the U.S. for over 20 years. Agents were reportedly in search of another man with several felony charges who the family said they had not seen in several months.
The arrest of the father of four, who worked in construction, could be what the Trump Administration calls “a collateral arrest.” That’s when someone who is not the intended target gets detained in the process of an operation.
At the march in Elgin, participant Maria says she was upset when she heard the news of the detainment.
“Anyone brown is not a criminal," she said. "We should be treated as people, and not as a less-than-human being or an animal."I think it's important for people to realize that you have to think about it as people, because this is ridiculous. It's horrible. My parents didn't come here to be treated like cattle.”
The broadcasting of the raids nationwide since Trump’s entered office has instilled fear in the immigrant community. For those marching, like Jazmine, they stand in solidarity with them.
“There are a lot of people who are here that are not doing anything except for working, and they pay their taxes, and they do everything that they're supposed to do, and they're being targeted for no reason,” she told WNIJ.
Katalina Rodriguez marched along with her sons as her husband pulled a red wagon ahead of them. She says Trump’s policy is not just an attack on immigrants without legal status.
"One of the things that Trump is doing right now is trying to dehumanize and go after all brown people, no matter what status they are," she said. "And that's just racial profiling. It's wrong. And to be honest, everything he's doing is just breaking people’s civil right.”
Valeria chanted with those gathered and said, in Spanish, “I’m in the struggle for my neighbors that ICE is taking away. All of the U.S. government has persecuted us for working. We came here to work to support our families.”
Outside of holding the march, the organizing group Solidaridad DuPage has been holding Know-Your-Rights trainings and other actions to bring attention to immigrant worker’s contributions to the country.
