As Next Trump Presidency Looms, Chicago Groups Serving Immigrants Are Bracing for the Unexpected
After Donald Trump was elected, Vannessa Olivera’s oldest son asked her if it was true that all immigrants would be removed from the country. It’s what he heard at school.
Olivera, whose family fled Venezuela and was sent to Chicago in 2022, tried to reassure him that it would be impossible to push out so many people in a country made up of immigrants.
"I’m not scared of Trump," Olivera said in Spanish. "Politics is a game. My dad would say politics is a dirty game where everyone uses the best strategies that they have. I don’t fear him because, really, I’m not doing anything wrong."
Chicago-area organizations that serve immigrants like Olivera are bracing for changes to immigration policy and an increase in deportation orders, which could come immediately through executive orders and later by shifting whom federal immigration officials detain, they say.
Demand for Legal Services
In the weeks since the presidential election, the Syrian Community Network has seen so many people show up twice a week for their two-hour immigration clinic that they’ve had to turn people away, said Al Peters, the organization’s director of immigration.
"We’re having multiple people coming that are in removal proceedings," Peters said. "They have a court date, they don’t have legal representation, quite often they don’t really understand what’s happening in terms of their legal process. At least we are able to explain that to them, and refer them to some of our partner organizations."
The Syrian Community Network became part of the Department of Justice’s accreditation program in 2019, which allows non-attorney employees and volunteers of certain nonprofit organizations to practice immigration law on the federal level. They started to do immigration-related work because there weren’t many immigration organizations that provided services for Arabic-speaking immigrants.
Educating Immigrant Communities
The North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic, based in Highland Park, has also seen an increase in phone calls and in-person visits about potential mass deportations, said Lia Kim-Yi, the clinic’s director of immigration law.
"There’s a fine line between educating the population and creating fear, and we don’t want to create fear," Kim-Yi said. "So we believe that education is empowering, so that’s why we’re doing so many ‘know your rights’ presentations."
The clinic is creating a safety planning checklist to gather important documents for clients, she said. They are also helping undocumented parents learn how to establish short-term guardianship in case they are detained. Attorneys are also filing Freedom of Information Act requests for clients to verify their full immigration history.
Preparing for the Unexpected
As Trump has talked about implementing mass deportations, McCarthy said the National Immigrant Justice Center has been trying to think about how it will reach people detained in remote jails or in large-scale facilities outside of Illinois.
"All people have rights, regardless of their immigration status," she said. "And we need to make sure those individuals in these remote jails have access to lawyers to ensure that these rights are upheld. So, that’s going to be really critical."
The National Immigrant Justice Center is also urging people to review their immigration case with a licensed attorney or accredited nonprofit to avoid falling for scams. They recommend the American Immigration Lawyers Association, which can be reached at 1-800-954-0254, and a list of organizations across the state can be found at ilaccesstojustice.com/get-help.
Conclusion
As the next Trump presidency looms, Chicago-area organizations serving immigrants are bracing for the unexpected changes to immigration policy and increased deportation orders. While the uncertainty is unsettling, these organizations are working to educate and prepare immigrant communities for the potential changes ahead.
FAQs
- What can I do to protect myself from potential changes to immigration policy?
- Review your immigration case with a licensed attorney or accredited nonprofit.
- Reach out to organizations like the American Immigration Lawyers Association (1-800-954-0254) or the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (1-855-435-7693).
- How can I find out where a loved one is being detained by federal immigration officials?
- Use the locator.ice.gov/odls/#/search tool.
- What should I do if I’m facing a potential deportation?
- Consult with a licensed attorney or accredited nonprofit for guidance on your specific situation.
