DeKALB – DeKalb residents took to the streets Sunday, marching with a message of unity in opposition to anti-immigrant sentiment that has fueled political discourse since January.
From 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. a crowd marched from the NIU parking garage to the corner of Lincoln Highway and First St.
The march was organized as President Donald Trump has followed through with campaign promises to crack down on immigration, fueling anxiety among immigrant communities as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were seen in communities across the country less than one week after Trump took office.
According to organizers of Sunday’s march, the purpose of the event was to show the community that people support them.
DeKalb resident Norma Gregorio-Perez said she felt overwhelmed seeing the immigrant community and various other groups support the march.
“In this day and age it’s very hard to find a sense of belonging. Just having people here who look different than us, our neighbors, our friends, our mentors and our teachers, it just means so much to all of us,” Gregorio-Perez said while wiping tears from her eyes. “On a national level we hear so many negative things about our community that it just really makes you question whether your neighbors are actually willing to stand up for you and speak up.”
Speaking to a crowd that gathered at the end of the march, Gregorio-Perez said doing immigration the right way is more complicated than it seems. The following quotes from Gregorio-Perez were translated from Spanish to English for this story.
“There’s always someone that’s going to say to get in line and do it like other people,” Gregorio-Perez said. “That line doesn’t exist for people like us.”
Gregorio-Perez said she is the daughter of immigrants, and through the work of her parents, is living a life her grandparents could never have dreamed of. She said the impact of immigrants can be seen all around the community.
“While you walk through DeKalb, look at the streets, look at the houses,” Gregorio-Perez said. “DeKalb was built by immigrants. The schools, the houses and DeKalb’s economy. DeKalb was built by immigrant hands.”
The protest was supported by various DeKalb area churches, NIU students and government officials. Organizers thanked the DeKalb police department, Mayor Cohen Barnes and City Manager Bill Nicklas for their support.
Protestors chanted with music and a drum beating in the background. Chants included “Our people, united, will never be defeated,” and “Acqui estamos y no nos vamos,” meaning “we are here and we’re not leaving.”
Among the crowd was organizer and DeKalb area teacher Veronica Garcia Martinez.
Martinez said she helped organize the march after women in the community reached out to her. For Martinez, it was important to show people in the community that people support them and they are safe.
“I understand we have a fear that ICE is going to come in and do raids like they’ve done in the past. But I don’t think we need to have that level of worry,” Martinez said. “I wanted to show them that these people were here to support them. I think they got that message today.”
Martinez said the current political climate has made her feel like there have been limited options but she has been doing her part to ease the anxiety of immigrant community members.
“I kind of feel helpless because I’m the person people come to, so I didn’t know what I could do,” Martinez said. “I started hosting workshops to give parents temporary guardianship forms here in the county because at least if I could give them peace of mind, it would help bring them at ease.”
