Mollie “Mo” Geron was a young girl during President Donald Trump’s first term. She remembers being scared at the time that her parents might be deported.
The family had an emergency plan if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents knocked on their door, a frightening situation she can’t believe she’s living through again four years later as Trump seeks to remove illegal immigrants at the start of his second term.
“My biggest fear is back,” Geron said.
This time, though, “I’m not a little girl anymore,” she said as she made signs at Elgin Community College in advance of a peaceful protest she and several others are planning for noon Sunday at 270 N. Grove Ave., in front of the Gail Borden Public Library.
“I’m here to say, ‘We are here to stay.’ I refuse to stay quiet. I will not back down,” Geron said.
The grassroots group she is part of held their first protest event in late January, which drew about 15 people. She has found that many are in the same spot as she is as they straddle two worlds — one in which they are a U.S.-born citizen and the other in which family members are facing possible deportation, Geron said.
Anya Alfante, Zayra Zavala and Gabriela Morales went to the first protest and have been helping Geron plan Sunday’s event. They also hosted Art That Speaks for Our Rights Wednesday at Elgin Community College, where people came together to create signs, talk, and share stories in a safe space.
Morales is a U.S.-born citizen. Her husband, Juan, was born in Mexico and brought here as a child. The two were high school sweethearts who married young and now have five children.
When their oldest son was 2 years old in 2014, his father was detained by ICE, she said. The federal agents “came into our home and took him without a warrant,” said Morales, an Elgin native speaking in an interview this week.
She believes ICE’s action had a lot to do with racial profiling since her husband had no criminal background, she said.
“There are a lot of people saying, ‘Do it the legal way.’ We have done it the legal way. We are tired at this point,” Morales said.
Juan Morales has been trying to get citizenship for 11 years. They’ve spent thousands of dollars and have hired a lawyer to handle the immigration paperwork.
“He was supposed to get his last court date for a decision right before COVID hit,” Morales said. Since then the case is still pending, and she’s not sure why it’s taking so long, she said.
“My anxiety is through the roof. I feel like everyone is watching us,” Morales said. “I’ve already been through (the experience of having a family member taken by ICE). I want people to know they’re not alone.”
Her husband is hesitant to go anywhere without her, she said. She carries extra identification with her in addition to a card outlining immigrants’ rights.
Participating in protests has become a healing experience, Morales said. “I shouldn’t be living in fear. When I spoke out at the protest, it healed a little bit in me, but there’s still a lot of healing (that’s needed).”
Alfante, whose parents are from the Philippines, said she’s always been a quiet person who didn’t feel comfortable speaking out. But that’s changed with what’s happening now — if she doesn’t say something, who will, she asks.
Immigration rights have always been important to her, and it’s important for people to understand how the deportations are affecting lives, Alfante said.
“No matter how (we) came here, in my opinion, we contribute to our society,” the ECC student said.
Zavala, an ECC student who hopes to be an immigration lawyer, is Mexican-American. Families are losing mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, sisters and brothers in ICE detentions, many of whom have been here for years and working hard to support their families, she said.
“I don’t want to lose hope for people to have empathy,” Zavala said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
Originally Published:
