On July 16, over 4,000 demonstrators, mostly immigrants and their allies staged a militant protest on the steps of city hall in Waukegan, Ill. The city council was holding its second vote on a local anti-immigrant law that would allow local police to initiate deportation proceedings for undocumented immigrants convicted of “serious crimes.”
Protesters rallied for five hours outside city hall. Buses came from Chicago, Elgin, Wheeling and Cicero.
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The law was passed on June 18 to be a so-called section 287(g) program. This section was part of the “Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act” passed by Congress in 1996. It empowered local police to partner with the federal government for immigration enforcement programs like Waukegan’s.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of Homeland Security, is partnering with local police all over the U.S. to expand its anti-immigrant assault of raids and deportations.
The Waukegan measure is part of a nation-wide offensive against immigrant workers.
Over the last year, hundreds of thousands of immigrants have been deported. Hundreds of military style raids have been conducted on immigrant communities and workplaces. An average of 27,500 immigrants are held in detention centers across the United States each day.
According to a 2005 Census report, the city has about 82,000 residents, with about 53 percent of the population identifying themselves as Latino or Hispanic. The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement says that, in reality, Waukegan is over 80 percent Latino.
The outrage and response from the community to the 287(g) program was immediate.
A boycott of stores supporting the city council decision started in June. Any store not displaying an orange sign against the anti-immigrant program is subject to the boycott. Over 200 companies have come out against the city’s measure.
In the days before the city council meeting, dozens of young people canvassed Latino neighborhoods in Waukegan, circulating petitions to defeat the law.
In the end, the city council voted 7-2 in favor of the law. Despite the vote, organizing will continue.
Ramon Becerra, president of the LCLAA and organizer of the Waukegan protest said, “We will not compromise. We will not negotiate. We will use every inch of our resources to make sure we defeat this administration.”
