{"id":5064262,"date":"2025-12-18T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/illatinonews.com\/?p=5064262"},"modified":"2025-12-18T08:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T08:00:00","slug":"latino-communities-say-ice-presence-is-changing-how-they-gather-and-celebrate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/2025\/12\/18\/latino-communities-say-ice-presence-is-changing-how-they-gather-and-celebrate\/","title":{"rendered":"Latino Communities Say ICE Presence is Changing How They Gather and Celebrate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CHICAGO \u2013 The late July heat beat down on the park where Jessica and her family celebrated a birthday party for her grandmother. Her grandmother had flown from Mexico on a tourist visa that took four years to get. Jessica was enjoying time with her family and dogs, looking forward to the mariachi band that would be arriving any moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her mom came over and told Jessica that she noticed her dog Kirby\u2019s name tag on the floor, confusing Jessica. She checked around Kirby\u2019s neck and saw a new tag that read \u201cJess & Ruben\u201d on the front, and \u201cWill you marry me?\u201d on the back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs soon as I was done reading her tags, the mariachi band started playing behind me,\u201d said Jessica. I turned around and there he was, Ruben having one knee down with the ring case open.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There wasn\u2019t any rush to have the wedding.The original plan was to wait two years to save money and enjoy engaged life. But increased ICE activity around Madison and Chicago \u2013 where Jessica and her fianc\u00e9\u2019s families live \u2013 changed that. They now feel like the only choice is to wait out the Trump administration, putting their wedding on hold for the next four years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was such a big deal to have my grandma involved, and I of course want her to come to our wedding,\u201d said Jessica. \u201cIt’s just \u2026 I don’t want ICE to detain her, and she doesn’t speak any English, so she would be completely lost. Or the fact, if ICE detains my mom, she wouldn’t know what to do, and I just don’t want to put that stress on my grandma, especially when she is so frail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since Trump took office in January, the prevalence of ICE and detainment of undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens have significantly increased. Many Latinos now feel like they need to stay hidden and not attract attention to themselves out of fear of being targeted \u2013 regardless of immigration status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI should be practicing my First Amendment right to speak out on things,\u201d said Jessica. \u201cBut I just feel so restricted. I just can’t speak out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cindy Eigler, executive director for the Coalition for Immigrant Mental Health, said her team has seen and heard about children who are worried about being racially profiled, to adults who now have their U.S. citizen friends or kids go to get groceries for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it’s across communities, across generations, that everyone’s experiencing this [fear],\u201d said Eigler. \u201cWe’re getting requests from the schools of how they can support the children who are experiencing a lot of anxiety, who are really scared that nobody’s going to be able to pick them up or be there to pick them up if their parents get taken during the day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Individuals from and serving immigrant communities in Illinois founded the Coalition for Immigrant Mental Health after the 2016 election. Some of their work includes building collective capacity and a strong sense of community. Clinicians hold weekly open spaces where people who are impacted by ICE can process their experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now, people are not feeling safe given the increased enforcement,\u201d said Eigler. \u201cPeople are not feeling connected, given the isolation, and people are not feeling a level of belonging, given all the anti-immigrant rhetoric that is so prevalent right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This isolation has also affected the way many Latinos navigate once safe spaces, such as celebrations and gatherings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woodstock, Illinois, held its ninth annual Mexican Independence Day celebration on Sept. 14. The sound of live music and smell of authentic Mexican food filled the air. Caballeros<\/em> rode around the downtown area, and women adorned traditional Mexican dresses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The major difference between this year\u2019s event and previous ones was the diminished crowd size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot as many people turned out for it, because we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves,\u201d said Marilyn, a McHenry County resident. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other folks who attended the celebration also described the crowd as smaller and less vibrant than in past years. They credited this to the possibility that ICE might target those in attendance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Marilyn, some attendees felt the celebration was a \u201cbright spot\u201d at a time when videos<\/a> of Latinos being violently detained by ICE agents highlighted the reality that those in the community faced. For others, the thought of attending an event that could be easily targeted by ICE kept them home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was very sad, because it’s something that I’ve attended in the past,\u201d said Lourdes*, a Chicago resident using a pseudonym because she is an undocumented immigrant (in fear of deportation if she gives her identity).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s a celebration, and it’s a really great opportunity for community, but it’s been one of many celebrations or outings that I have decided not to go to just to avoid the potential of experiencing some life altering or very traumatizing experience,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latinos have avoided attending other large gatherings meant to celebrate each other and their culture. Juan, another McHenry County resident, was in charge of coordinating attendance for his sister\u2019s quince\u00f1era party this year and received multiple declined invitations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had a lot of family in California that, as a result of fear, couldn’t attend,\u201d said Juan. \u201cI think it was upwards of like 30 members of my family couldn’t attend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The party provided a moment of normalcy for Juan and those in attendance to feel isolated from the state of the U.S. and focus on celebrating his sister.\u201cIt’s been a big bummer,\u201d said Juan. \u201cI haven’t been able to see some people that I really love seeing. And, if I do see them, it’s not in any large capacity, it has to be sort of in a home, which is nice, but it’s just kind of a sad state of affairs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Juan added that while he tries to be loud and boisterous about his Latino pride, it is disheartening to watch his community\u2019s light dim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt hurts a lot, because these are some of the hardest working people I know,\u201d said Juan. \u201cA lot of them are even super patriotic; they’ve come to love the United States. It sucks that I have to watch my community suffer, and especially one that has so much joy in life attached to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This loss of joy and increased apprehension has also affected the ways in which many Latinos express themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lourdes said she feels nervous playing Mexican music in her car and often avoids wearing traditional Mexican jewelry or clothing to keep from drawing attention to herself. She added that although she is white-passing, every day still feels like living in a nightmare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am undocumented, so, for me, this has been psychological warfare,\u201d said Lourdes. \u201cIt has been very intense, and it’s a battle that I’m fighting every single day to still do the things that I can and should be doing, like attending my classes, still getting together with friends, basically maintaining a normal life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eigler described how the trauma from ICE impacts not only the physical and mental health of folks in and serving immigrant communities, but also their ability to feel guilt-free joy and connection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople feel a level of guilt for even thinking about experiencing joy or happiness, or prioritizing or making space for that, given how much harm is happening and threat is happening in our communities right now,\u201d said Eigler. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reported ICE sightings across communities have made Latinos feel like agents could be anywhere. Jessica and Marilyn described how this panopticon-like threat has made them feel like they need to suppress their identities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am still very proud to be a Latina,\u201d Jessica said. \u201cIt’s just the fact that sometimes I am afraid to say it out loud in public due to the judgment I may face. I’m actually afraid to post stuff on social media and spread the word how ICE is damaging this country, only because I know people are so nasty online, and they could just easily look up my information, they can find my family, and that’s my biggest fear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings tend to be smaller and more intimate, there is less fear for safety during the holidays. Lourdes said she looks forward to trying to replicate a sense of normalcy through practicing ritualistic moments with her family, such as preparing food and spending time together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the most low-risk kind of gathering that we can have, because it\u2019s in the comfort of our own home,\u201d said Lourdes. \u201cIt’s also just like resisting, not letting [ICE] get in the way of us having the joy of getting the family together. But, nonetheless, they are in the back of everybody’s mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s Note: Illinois Latino News granted anonymity to sources due to concerns about retaliation, immigration enforcement and personal safety. Their identities are known to the newsroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McKenna Sweet<\/strong> is a recent University of Washington graduate and current freelance journalist who primarily writes science and community pieces.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo credit: McKenna Sweet<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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