‘You are not alone’: More than 100 people rally in West Chicago protesting ICE raids

A bystander watched Saturday’s exuberant march and rally in West Chicago protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids targeting Latinos with tears in her eyes.

“I never felt like this,” said Tasneem Matthis, who emigrated to the U.S. from Pakistan in 1971 and expressed dismay over the raids being carried out as part of Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. “There is so much fear and hatred.”

“This is a country of immigrants,” she said, wiping away tears. “We bring richness, we don't take away.”

Before the event commenced, protesters reported federal immigration agents detained two men — one a U.S. citizen and the other a legal resident, neither of whom were involved in the protest — as they gassed up their work vehicle at the service station where participants rallied before the march to city hall.

Agents took their driver’s licenses, held them for about an hour, then dropped them off in random West Chicago locations, said Mayor Daniel Bovey who spoke with the men.

The agents did not return the license belonging to the citizen, said Bovey adding that West Chicago police have not been involved in ICE raids.

Speaking in English and Spanish to about 150 people gathered outside city hall, Bovey assured the crowd, “as long as I am mayor, I'm going to use my voice to speak out for the vulnerable.”

Talking with a reporter afterward, Bovey noted 53% of the community is Spanish-speaking.

“The last 2 ½ weeks have been an extremely traumatic time,” he said. “People are fearful, kids are having panic attacks at school … even people who have legal status are afraid.

“It's important for me to be here to let our constituents know we see what's going on.”

Attendee Andrew Sparks of West Chicago works for a nonprofit organization that provides legal services to immigrants. He was accompanied by his 3-year-old son, who perched on his father’s shoulders and waved a miniature Mexican flag.

Sparks, whose family includes immigrants, said he wants to teach his son to “use his voice in a constructive way.”

Immigrants are an integral part of our society, he said adding, “I don't believe we should be using force against people trying to live here peacefully.”

Cristobal Cavazos, executive director of Casa DuPage Workers Center and one of the rally organizers, said West Chicago is home to essential workers, not immigrants here illegally.

He and other speakers were repeatedly interrupted by cheers, whistles, drums and the occasional blast from a tenor saxophone.

“If we’re not on the streets, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is on the streets,” Cabazos said. “We have to confront fear with fierceness, power and strength. We’re fighting this policy tooth and nail until the policy is ended.”

Roberto Moreno, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Franklin Park, said he attended because “the only way to be the church of Jesus Christ is to be with the people.”

Residents of West Chicago “have to know they are not alone,” he said adding, “we have to encourage members of the community who have a voice to lift it up.”

Moments before protesters began their march to city hall, Avani Christian, pastor of West Chicago’s New Hope United Methodist Church, made a poignant observation.

“Division is not about language,” Christian told the crowd. “Division happens because we do not have enough love. … We are the DNA of God. You are not alone.”