Chicago (CBS) – – Amidst Trump’s plans for a radical approach to immigration without papers, some non-profit organizations from Chicago, such as food banks, are concerned about shifts in immigration policy.
At the Food Bank of Northern Ishinis in Geneva, the food is high everywhere, but what you cannot see are their worries for the customers they serve in 13 provinces, many of whom are immigrants without papers.
“Our greatest concern is that people, out of fear, choose not to come to us for help,” says Julie Yorko, CEO of the Northern Illinois Food Bank.
This week, the organization had a meeting with more than a dozen of their food banks, only a few days after the new government took over power, awaiting the question of whether history is repeating itself, pointing to changes they saw during President’s first term of office Trump.
‘During Trump’s first government … when the rhetoric came out and there was [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] When we went to certain places to look for immigrants, we saw our number of falling, especially in our more diverse communities, “said Yorko.
On Thursday, Pers Secretary of the White House, Karoline Leavitt, said in a message on social media that the government arrested on one day “538 illegal immigrant criminals”.
That is a clear increase compared to January 2024, when US immigration and customs enforcement made an average of 277 arrests per day.
- But the figures fluctuated in January of year to year:
- January 2024 – 8,591
- January 2023 – 18,170
- January 2022 – 8,487
- January 2021 – 5,909
Last year at this time, the ICE region of Chicago-which covers six states-performed the most arrests of the country in January (774).
The Northern illinois Food Bank said that it will make deliveries up to six days a week, but they also share information with customers and distribute things like ‘know your rights’ cards at partner agencies.
“More than half of our agencies have no paid staff. More than half of our agencies work with budgets of $ 10,000 or less. So what they said was: ‘Please determine the language. Please help us understand how to respond “, because they like:” We just don’t have the bandwidth. ” They are in the front line and feed every day, “said Yorko.
Yorko said that Aurora and Elgin were the areas where they saw the largest customer decrease during the first Trump government.