Chicago suburbs say ‘Fuera ICE!’
Addison, IL – Answering a call from the Casa DuPage Worker’s Center (CDWC), a group of more than 40 immigrant rights advocates gathered in the Chicago suburbs, July 26, to support the local immigrant community and to spread know-your-rights information. Organizers from Chicago and CDWC marched in Addison, a working-class suburb where almost half the population is Latino.
“Today, as part of our community defense we are going to show ICE and the entire system that we are not scared,” said Cristobal Cavazos, co-founder and coordinator of the CDWC.
After a program in front of a popular Mexican grocery store, the march patrolled the surrounding residential areas, handing out know your rights cards to neighbors and calling for legalization for all. Addison has been a target of frequent ICE operations as the Trump administration attempts to sow terror within immigrant communities.
Addison is located just 15 minutes from the Broadview ICE Facility. Broadview is the target of a campaign launched this past week by the Immigrant Rights Working Committee of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression due to the inhumane conditions immigrants have reported after being held there for days.
“It is impossible that in the 21st century we are still fighting for the liberation of our people, that we are fighting for the liberation of workers,” said Gaby Hernandez Chico, coordinator of the CDWC. “For how long will we wait? Because if the Mexican brothers, the Latino brothers, the African Americans, the Palestinian brothers and sisters are not free, then none of us will be completely free.”
The march was a continuation of the ICE Out of the Barrio! rallies hosted by Casa DuPage, which provides visible support and legal resources to affected communities on a weekly basis. DuPage County, where Addison is located, is made up of similar towns with strong Latino, working-class populations. Casa DuPage has conducted multiple “people’s patrols” in different towns across the county to show ICE that they will defend their community.
“It needs to be more than clear, that it is time for a united, mass struggle,” continued Hernandez Chico. “Our voices should be united, our steps are taken together, and our fists should be high in the air.”
ICE continues to terrorize working-class and predominantly Latino communities in Chicago and the surrounding areas. It is a pattern repeated around the country, where immigrants are scared to leave their homes and risk abduction by ICE.
Protesters in Addison chanted, “Aquí estamos y no nos vamos, y si nos echan, nos regresamos!” (We are here, we won’t leave, if they kick us out, we will return)!