SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — Nearly a year after a controversial visit from federal officials, members of the Latino community are sticking together and trying to move forward.

In May 2025, then Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem visited Springfield. During her visit, she met with two men who were to be deported and spoke about the dangers she sees with what she calls "sanctuary states."

On Latino Unity Day in Springfield, people representing community organizations and advocacy groups, expressed the importance of standing together. They asked for support from other members of the community.

Members of the family who learned their husband and father was being deported after Noem’s visit have now left the country. However, we’re told one child, who was born in the U.S., has remained in the state. It’s a cause of pain in the broader Latino community.

Layla Suleiman González, a partner with Nexxos, told us, "The Guatemalan family that last year was taken that same day, that very same morning, they were taken by ICE. That family is now destroyed; that family has now been pulled apart."

Nearly a year after since-ousted Noem’s visit to Springfield, ICE operations continue in the state. there’s a sense of unease and fear in Latino communities in Illinois.

Suleiman González says, “What we’re hearing from the community is that they’re very fearful. We can see that in areas that have survived and thrived because of the Latino economic power. They’re suffering because the businesses are not getting the kind of customers that used to be able to come in, because everybody is scared."

However, while there may be fear, it will not stop the Latino community from being there for one another.

Magdalena Rivera, CEO and president of the Illinois Migrant Council, says, “In our community, in the Latino community, we firmly believe that it takes a village. So, the village comes out in the time we need, and this is the time we need."

There are also legislative pushes being made at the Illinois statehouse to protect members of their community.

Artemio Arreola, the community relations director with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights, says, “We are, right now, continuing to protect and educate our community against the federal issue.” He continues, “We try to create programs, build initiatives, the ones that reflect our values, our values as a state, a welcoming state."

Events like Latino Unity Day offer members of the Latino community to connect and strategize how to best protect each other. This is the 16th year of the event.