Catching Up with Quigley: Week of October 20
Dear Friend,
This week’s edition of Catching Up with Quigley is being sent late due to emergency situations that unfolded across our district on Friday. Stay safe. Protect your neighbors.
1. Responded to ICE Throughout IL-05
On Friday, ICE was seen throughout IL-05 kidnapping people, detaining U.S. citizens, and tear-gassing residents who dared to challenge ICE’s actions. My entire Chicago staff immediately responded to these reports by contacting ICE and the FBI to initiate inquiries, sharing information about sightings with community leaders and on social media, and providing on-the-ground support in our neighborhoods.
As schools initiated lockdowns and launched safety response plans because of ICE presence, I returned to Greeley Elementary for the second time this week to help walk children home in an emergency version of their “walking school bus.”
Despite the chaos and fear that unfolded around us, I was incredibly heartened to see how quickly all of you responded by going out to defend your neighbors. The only way to get through this is together. I’m with you.
If you see ICE, call ICIRR at (855) 435-7693. Learn about your rights HERE.
2. Hosted a Townhall and Elevated Ofelia & Ruben's Story
On Monday, I held an Emergency Community Meeting where I began the evening by sharing the story of Ruben and his 16-year-old daughter, Ofelia. Ruben Torres Maldonado has been a painter in Chicago for over 20 years, but he's been working weekends to support his family, including Ofelia — a Lake View High School student fighting Stage 4 cancer. Last weekend, while Ofelia was home from the hospital for the first time in over a month, Ruben was detained by ICE.
You can learn more about Ofelia and Ruben by watching a video from ABC Chicago HERE, or by reading their story in Block Club Chicago. You can watch the event recording HERE.
I want to thank The Resurrection Project, ACLU of Illinois, One Northside, NIJC, and Centro Romero for supporting this event.
3. Supported Congresswoman Jayapal's Shadow Hearing on ICE Kidnappings
Friday morning, I joined Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and other elected officials at a shadow hearing about Trump's unjust ICE raids in Chicago. Masked, armed, and unidentified ICE agents are ripping innocent people out of their homes — mostly without warrants. This has to stop.
Watch coverage of the hearing HERE.
If you or someone you know is worried they could be detained, please use my office's Immigration Protection Kit. You can also give my office a call at (773) 267-5926 for additional assistance, as we have Spanish speakers on staff.
Please don't hesitate to contact my office if you have questions or to share your opinions and concerns during this period. You can call my DC office at (202) 225-4061 or my Chicago office at (773) 267-5926. You can also email me through my website at Quigley.house.gov/contact. You can also sign up for in-the-moment updates on my work by following me on social media @RepMikeQuigley or texting "QUIGLEY" to (773) 200-2854.
Sincerely,
Mike Quigley