CHICAGO (WGN) — Over 200 people attended a town hall at Lake View High School on Monday aimed at educating people about their rights if they encounter Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
The event was organized by Congressman Mike Quigley (D-IL), who spoke on a panel alongside Aldermen Bennett Lawson and Matt Martin, representatives from the ACLU and the Resurrection Project.
Quigley says increased immigration enforcement in Chicago has led to the separation of families in his district, which includes parts of the North Side.
“Everyone in the United States who’s here has due process rights. Depending on your circumstances, they’re a little bit different, but you certainly have a right to counsel. You have a right to respond to them, so that’s what this training is about tonight,” Quigley said.
Quigley says when he planned the Know Your Rights event, he never thought it would hit so close to home. Over the weekend, the father of a 16-year-old student was arrested by ICE.
The family says Ruben Torres was picking up roofing materials at a Home Depot in Niles when ICE agents approached him.
“They called me and I got scared. I went inside the car and locked the doors. They forced the door open and one of them pulled a gun and put it on my head,” the man’s wife, Sandibell Hidalgo said.
The couple’s daughter, Ofelia Torres, has been battling cancer and receiving treatment at Lurie Children’s Hospital. She says this was the last thing she expected during her first time home in weeks.
“The whole reason I was allowed to go home is because like, you’ve been in the hospital for a month, your social life has been very limited,” Torres said. “Just to have them strip my dad away is horrible.”
Town hall educates chicagoans on their rights during ice encounters 1
The family says Torres needs the support of both of her parents while she undergoes chemotherapy. They hope by sharing their story, they can bring awareness to the impact of families being separated.
Quigley emphasized that knowing your rights can help families prepare documents, seek legal counsel and develop plans that may prevent family separation.
The town hall was livestreamed on YouTube for those seeking the information.
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