- The Springfield Immigration Advocacy Network helps immigrants in the area on a variety of fronts.
- SIAN leaders have met with federal and state lawmakers as well as the Springfield police chief.
- Among its volunteer efforts is SIAN Sundays when groups come together to purchase, sort and deliver groceries for families in need.
Before a recent trip to Colombia, Valeria Cueto, a board member of the Springfield Immigration Action Network (SIAN), recalled that her eight-year-old daughter tearily asked her that upon returning to the U.S. "if we would be immigrants."
"I explained to her, ‘No, you’re a citizen and we’re going to be OK,’" Cueto said. "But she was just piecing together, I think, what she hears in the news and in the environment."
Even far from the bright lights of Chicago, Cueto, 37, and a first generation American, said immigrants have foreboding fears.
They’re avoiding going to grocery stores, she said. Scared to go to medical appointments and to send their children to school or go to work. Most alarmingly, she added, they’re most frightened to contact anybody in authority, including the police.
Those fears are stoked, Cueto said because they can’t trust that laws and procedures are being followed.
"They may know that schools or police don’t interact with ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), but what’s to stop an individual within those institutions from breaking with that norm? What recourse do they have should they be impacted by a bad actor?
"It pushes people deep into the shadows, makes everyone less safe and really endangers our shared humanity. This abuse costs all of us."
SIAN and other groups, like the Hispanic Women of Springfield and the Springfield Dominican Sisters, work with immigrants in the Springfield area on a variety of fronts, from accompanying them on shopping trips or doctors’ appointments to court watching.
Sister Beth Murphy, a spokeswoman for the Dominican religious community, said it has opened a literacy center to assist immigrants with reading, writing and speaking English. It is preparing to offer citizenship classes for those who are reaching that stage of the process.
"We are networking with other immigrant advocates," Murphy said, "to follow the gospel mandate to welcome the stranger by helping to feed, clothe and shelter immigrants in our community."
Cueto and other volunteers have met with federal and state lawmakers and local heads of police departments about matters of policies and concerns.
They deal primarily with Latino or Hispanic communities in Sangamon County, which make up about 3% of the population or around 5,700 residents.
Cueto said her group helps everyone from permanent residents to families and individuals who have been given temporary protected status to folks who have been given asylum, to others who are undocumented. Sometimes such "blended families," Cueto said, have all of those statuses.
Immigrants in central Illinois, Cueto said, don’t necessarily feel insulated from decisions that are being made at the federal level or from more strident rhetoric being used by President Donald Trump’s administration. The community is insulated, in some ways, she added, by the state’s Trust Act, a 2017 law that prohibits law enforcement from participating, supporting or assisting ICE, but ICE is a federal agency, so there are actions within the community are being driven by policy at the top.
Despite the fear some individuals have of law enforcement, Cueto said SIAN has had a constructive relationship with the Springfield Police Department.
"They recognize that it does not serve public safety for there to be widespread fear of local (police) among immigrants," she said.
Springfield Police Chief Ken Scarlette said he knows individuals in the community are scared because of what they’ve seen and/or heard, whether factual or not.
"If someone is in fear of their personal safety for something going on, especially right in front of them, I want people comfortable calling 911 or the SPD so we can come offer the protection and assurance that we would do for anyone of our citizens of this community," Scarlette said. "It’s going to take time to build that trust. I understand that."
One of the most jarring signs of the times, Cueto said, is that immigrants, sometimes complete strangers, ask her to be an emergency contact if families get separated.
Cueto said it confirms the fear that exists within the country and the fact that going back is not an alternative.
"People have made sacrifices that are difficult to understand to get here and people don’t leave their home for fun," she said. "I think what gets lost in the conversation a lot is that everyone loves home and when you’re forced to leave, it’s because home is not safe for you anymore."
But Cueto is also buoyed by the fact that volunteers also reach out to help with immigrants. On SIAN Sundays, such groups come together to purchase, sort and deliver groceries and diapers to families in need.
"For me it’s a powerful reminder that there are lots of people who do have care in their hearts, that this time is really challenging and instead of being complacent or ignoring things that are deeply troubling, they’ve come forward," she said. "I’ve had perfectly random people reach out, upset that immigrants are being scapegoated and villainized.
"It gives me hope that there are many more people who want to help."
(This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.)
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
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