Together We Rise: Standing Strong Against Inhumane Deportations

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I feel deeply compelled to use my platform to speak out. Even though Florecer Latinx is still growing, and my voice might feel small in the noise of it all—I know one thing for sure:

We cannot afford to stay silent. Not now.

In moments like this, silence is complicity. The recent news surrounding President Trump’s mass deportation orders has shaken our communities, retraumatized families, and placed an entire generation of immigrants—many of whom call the Chicagoland home—in a state of fear and uncertainty.

This isn’t just policy. It’s pain. It’s families being torn apart in the middle of the night. It’s abuelas clutching prayer candles as they wait for news. It’s children afraid to go to school or answer the door. It’s the type of cruelty that echoes through generations.

And yet, even through this pain—we rise.

If you’re reading this and you’re scared—for yourself, for your parents, for your children—I want you to know: you are not alone.

Maybe your stomach drops every time you hear a knock on the door. Maybe you flinch when you see a police car. Maybe you’re carrying the weight of keeping your family safe, of translating legal letters, of pretending you’re okay even when your body feels like it’s constantly in fight or flight.

I see you. I feel your fear. We are conncted and will stand together.

This country has tried again and again to make us feel disposable, yet here we stand. This fight. is ours and we will not back down. History has shown us time and time again that collective action moves mountains.

We Are Not Powerless

We may not have power in government offices, but we have power in our numbers. In our stories. Our refusal to be erased.

Chicago is home to one of the largest immigrant communities in the country. That means we are unbreakably connected. And in that connection, there is power.

• Power is organizing.
• Power is knowing your rights.
• Power is creating safety plans with your loved ones.
• Power is showing up for your neighbor, for your community.
• Power is voting, protesting, calling legistlators, and speaking out even if your voice shakes.

We are the children of ancestors who crossed borders, faced hunger, and endured separation with nothing but hope and faith. That same strength lives in us today.

What Can We Do Right Now

Whether you are directly affected or an ally wanting to help, here are some ways that can help protect our community:

1. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
   • Learn what you can do if ICE shows up to your home, work, or school.
   • Print and carry a red card that asserts your right to remain silent and to not open the door without a warrant. This link will take you to my recursos pa’ la gente page where you can find the Illinois Immigration Resource Center’s Printable Template.
   • ➡️ ICIRR’s Resource Hub – Includes multilingual guides and hotline numbers.
   • ➡️ National Immigration Law Center – Provides legal info and toolkits.
2. MAKE A SAFETY PLAN
   • Designate emergency contacts and keep important dicuments in a secure accessible place.
   • Teach kids what to do if a parent is detained
   • Write down important medical information regarding your children, i.e any medications that they take, etc.
3. Support Local Organizations
   • Donate or volunteer with Chicagoland orgs doing powerful work:
   • Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR)
     • Located in the Loop (228 S. Wabash, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60604).
     • Offers Know Your Rights workshops, legal referrals, policy advocacy, rapid-response networks, family support, and updates on state/federal law 
   • Resurrection Project – Immigration Legal Aid
     • Based in Pilsen and southwest Chicago (1805 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL 60608).
     • Provides free immigration legal services—citizenship, DACA, removal defense—as well as health, housing, and community programming 
   • Chicago Community Bond Fund –
     • Supports immigrant families by helping with bond funds to reunite families detained by ICE—Chicago-based grassroots effort.
4. Use Your Voice
   • Call your elected officials and demand local protections, defunding of ICE, and humane immigration policy.
   • When calling a staff member or a voicemail will take notes of :
     • your name
     • zip code
     • the issue you are calling about
     • your stance
     • any specific demands
   • These calls are logged and offices keep track on how many calls they recieve on an issue, and when they get hundreds or thousands of calls, it pressures them to act. You don’t have to be a policy expect. Your voice and conceren are the message!
   • Script Sample: Hello, my name is [First Name], and I live in [City or ZIP Code]. I’m calling to urge [Senator/Representative/Councilmember ___] to take action to protect immigtant families. I am asking you to
     • Publically oppose ICE raids and mass deportations expand sanctuary city policies (limit police collaboration with ICE)
     • Fund legal aid for undocumented immigrants facing deportation
     • Push for humane immigration policies-not more fear and seperation.
5. Share, Amplify, and Stay Informed
   • Share this post, Share rights resources. Uplift stories of undocumented voices.
   • Forward and support immigrant-led accounts on social media (this helps direct visibility and support where it’s needed most)
     

We Come From Warriors

When fear rises, remember this: we come from warriors.

Our ancestors faced colonizers with nothing but their voices, their earth, their language, their love for their people—and they fought. Some with fire. Others with prayer. Many with quiet, relentless resistance. They survived the unthinkable so that we could exist.

So when they try to scare us into silence, into shrinking, into disappearing—we remember who we are.

We are not the generation that turns away.
We are not the generation that stays quiet.
Somos la generación que florece. Que resiste. Que no se rinde.

We protect each other.
We speak up, even when our voices shake.
We fight back—not just with protests and policies, but with community, with compassion, with truth.

Together, we are unbreakable.

Nos quisieron enterrar, pero no sabían que éramos semillas

MEXICAN PROVERB