Chicago religious leaders reportedly met to discuss their role in how to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation.
“Advocates and local leaders have warned that mass deportations could impact undocumented mixed-status families and new immigrant families alike.” According to the Chicago Tribune.
Lincoln United Methodist Church was once a “sanctuary” for illegal immigrants. The Tribune reports that the service for Spanish speakers will be available “virtually every Sunday from now on.”
“…Even in that sacred space, you don't feel safe,” Francisca Lino told the Tribune.
Trump supporters punch Chicago mayor in the face days before City Council rejects tax hike
On December 5, Thomas Homan, a senior official performing the duties of Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), presents year-end numbers on immigration enforcement, border security, and national security at a Department of Homeland Security press conference. I gave a lecture at 2017 in Washington DC (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Reno, the wife of a U.S. citizen and mother of six children, who visits Lincoln weekly, said her family plans to gather around a computer for services in the future. She has “no criminal history” and has been in the United States for 25 years while maintaining employment, her attorney told the Tribune.
Reno had previously been arrested while crossing the southern border in 1999 and deported to Mexico. In 2001, she crossed the border again. Eventually she “settled in Bolingbrook and married her husband the same year.”
Reno made the decision to watch church services online with her family out of fear of being deported again as Chicago's undocumented community and its advocates prepare for a change in government.
According to other reports, The Trump administration plans to rescind a long-standing policy that prohibits ICE agents from arresting illegal aliens in schools, houses of worship, hospitals and other so-called “sensitive locations,” anonymous sources claim. It is said that
According to the Tribune, Brandon Lee of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights said, “The coalition has developed a plan to connect residents to local rapid response teams and prepare for Chicago and Illinois to be targeted. “There is,” he said.
“Following the incoming Trump administration's threat to make Chicago a mass deportation center, Emma Lozano, an activist and pastor at Lincoln United Methodist Church, said that as the church prepares to protect undocumented immigrant communities, “We have decided to move our Spanish-language services online. English-language services will continue to be held in-person,” the Tribune reported.
Border czar Tom Homan has warned that Mayor Johnson will be prosecuted if he obstructs ICE's mass deportation efforts. (Reuters)
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Mexicans make up the largest percentage of immigrants in the United States
Chicago leaders said the Mexican community would be the hardest hit. Chicago is also home to a large Venezuelan community, who reportedly make up the majority of the approximately 50,000 migrants who have crossed the U.S. southern border in the past two years.
President Trump names border czarTom Homan promised to go after Chicago with strict enforcement for criticizing Illinois political leaders.
Speaking at the Northwest Side Republican Party's holiday party last month, Homan detailed his plan, vowing to verify the identity of asylum seekers and arrest those who provide shelter to illegal immigrants.
“Chicago is in trouble because the mayor and the governor are horrible,” Homan said at the party.
He also invited Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson to meet and negotiate the plan.
Additionally, Homan warned that Mayor Johnson will be prosecuted if he obstructs ICE's mass deportation efforts.
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As the immigration crisis continues and crime soars in the Windy City, Mayor Johnson institutes a 60-day shelter eviction policy for immigrants. (Getty Images/AP)
A statement from Pritzker's office, obtained by a local Fox affiliate, read: “We know that Illinois will face countless baseless attacks from the Trump administration over the next four years. Rather than respond to every ridiculous boast from Trump's henchmen, Governor Pritzker focused on what Trump focused on in his first term: leading the state with competence rather than chaos. ”
Johnson and Pritzker's offices did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Fox News Digital previously reported that Chicagoans have accused Mayor Johnson and other city officials of “ignoring” citizens' constitutional rights, complaining about tax increases, and how the city is handling the immigration crisis. The media reported that they are calling for greater transparency regarding the number of people living in Japan.
