Introduction to the Issue
Daniel Rios was at lunch at John Hancock College Prep when he got a message from his mother that haunted him the rest of the day. She was anxious after hearing that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were near their neighborhood. Rios, a first-generation American, said he felt helpless. His mind wandered from his schoolwork, dreading the next message would bring terrible news.
The Impact on Students
Rios was among more than a dozen teens from across Chicago who participated in a roundtable discussion last week about how immigration enforcement and the threat of a National Guard deployment was affecting their mental health. They expressed feelings of powerlessness, frustration, fear and a deepening desire to become more involved with their communities. The students, representing more than 10 schools across the city, also shared ways they can avoid becoming overwhelmed.
Teenagers from Chicago schools participate in discussions at Mikva Challenge offices located at in The Loop on Thursday.
Tyler Pasciak Lariviere / Sun-Times
Effects on Mental Health
The event was held in the Loop and organized by Communities United along with Voices of Youth in Chicago Education, Mikva Challenge and Hana Center. Tykwon Billups, a freshman at the University of Illinois Chicago, said many of his close friends in college share Rios’ angst. “They’re trying to pursue education but with the fear of their family at home … being scared that one day they might get a call that their mother or father isn’t at home any more,” Billups said. “That fear is so deep inside of them that they can’t effectively grow as a person or grow academically because it’s looming over them as a cloud.”
Tykwon Billups a freshman at University of Illinois Chicago, speaks about student fears as the Trump administration steps up immigration enforcement and threatens to send the National Guard to Chicago.
Tyler Pasciak Lariviere / Sun-Times
Student Reactions to ICE Raids and National Guard Deployment
Other teens talked about the negative emotions they feel when seeing some of the reactions to the raids on social media. “People are talking about, ‘Oh, I voted for this,’ but when you put it into perspective it’s like: Are you voting to have families taken away? Are you voting to have children getting lost throughout that deportation?” said Jessica Garcia, who also attends Hancock College Prep. President Donald Trump has made repeated threats to deploy the National Guard to Chicago. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have said deploying troops would not help prevent crime and have called for de-escalation.
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