AIexpress – Francesca Lino and her family used to sit in the church chairs every Sunday for services. Now, they are empty. This time, she said, “not even that holy space feels safe.” In the past, she sought refuge in the Chicago church to avoid being deported.
Lino, who is married to a U.S. citizen and has six children, is going to watch a Spanish-language service at Lincoln United Methodist Church with her family almost every Sunday from now on.
Lino said, “My family and I are tired of this.” Her Christmas was once again ruined by not knowing what would happen with her and her family in the country.
Fears that Chicago will be the center of mass deportations under the new Trump administration led Emma Lozano, an activist and pastor at Lincoln United Methodist, to decide to move the church’s Spanish services online in order to better protect its illegal immigrant community. For now, the English events will still be done in person.
People on the far right have attacked and damaged the Pilsen church in the past, Lozano said.
Lozano said, “We need to believe their threats and get ready for the worst.”
People who are immigrants in the Chicago area are starting to feel that fear. Advocates and local leaders are warning that mass deportations could hurt families who are illegal, have mixed status, or are new migrants. Even if that is true, political leaders and immigrant advocates in Chicago say that the Mexican community will see the most deportations. That’s because they are the biggest group of newcomers to the country.
At a news conference in December at City Hall, former congressman Luis Gutierrez said, “They’re coming to our schools, they’re coming to our hospitals, and they’re coming to our churches and sanctuaries on Sundays.” Gutierrez was one of several leaders who asked Mayor Brandon Johnson to protect the community in a letter. “… They’ll do it again because they’ve already done it.” There is no safety for anyone.
Reports say that President-elect Donald Trump wants to end a long-standing policy at Immigration and Customs Enforcement that stops undocumented immigrants from being arrested without a warrant in schools, hospitals, and places of prayer.
Lozano was scared when she heard about the plan because her church is home to Centro Sin Fronteras, a pro-immigrant charity that has helped many immigrants, including Lino, who are facing deportation.
A lot of the people who go to Lincoln United Methodist are also mixed-status families. They come together to pray and help each other fight immigration.
“We are not going to be set up so that they can come into our church and separate the kids from their families,” Lozano said. “Our worship service is going to be virtual now.”
On Trump’s first term, Lino sought refuge at a church in Humboldt Park in 2017 so that he would not be deported. He is set to meet with immigration officials again on February 13, just a few weeks after Trump takes office again.
The thing that scares her the most is that she might not be able to dodge being deported this time. Lino doesn’t watch the news now that she is a grandmother of eight. She spends time with her family.
She said, “I try not to think about it.” We are sick of living in secret and being hidden from everyone.
Chris Bergin, Lino’s lawyer, said that she has lived and worked in this country for almost 25 years and has no crime record. In 1999, she was caught crossing the southern border and sent back to Mexico. She crossed the line again in 2001 and put down roots in Bolingbrook. That same year, she married her husband there.
Lino then asked her husband to help her get permanent residency. She got a Social Security number and a work pass. Lino was arrested in 2005, though, when she was being questioned by immigration officials. She admitted to being arrested before, but her application did not include that information, Bergin said.
Lino has been facing deportation since then, but he has been able to stay in the country by talking with ICE agents once a year.
On the other hand, when she checked in for the first time under Trump in 2017, she was told she needed to have a plane ticket to Mexico with her.