** Some interviews originally conducted in Spanish have been translated. **
A young couple with a baby in a carrier waited outside of the New American Welcome Center, located at the University YMCA, on Friday morning. They were among the first in line for an immigration rights event that stood out for one reason — it was offered entirely in Spanish.
The “Conozca Sus Derechos” or “Know Your Rights” workshop was led by Belinda Guillén, immigrant family services manager at the New American Welcome Center and fluent Spanish speaker originally from Puebla, Mexico.
“We are trying to take immediate action to keep our community informed and try to reduce rumors,” Guillén said. “We are trying to play a role in which they feel that there is someone who cares about them.”
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In the conference room, around 30 people and a few children paid close attention to Guillén while other participants joined through Zoom.
Through an informational video narrated by a child’s voice in Spanish, attendees learned step-by-step how to respond when facing immigration officers.
Pamphlets and “red cards” summarizing immigrants’ rights were handed out to every attendee. The most repeated pointer was the right of silence and the right to not have their domicile searched without a judge-signed search warrant.
The center’s mission is exactly this — to equip immigrants, or “new Americans,” with all the resources needed to thrive and flourish.
Ricardo Diaz, interim director and founding chair of the NAWC advisory board, shared how powerful knowledge can be in the face of the new administration’s threats toward immigrants.
“We focus on our people,” Diaz said. “We inform them. The least informed people are the most afraid. As a lady told me herself, ‘The more information, the less fear.’”
To expand its reach, the NAWC has a multilingual team offering services in French, Korean, Chinese and more. While migration discussions often center on Latinos, many other communities are also affected.
“We are not just going to do our job; we are intensifying our work,” Diaz said. “This is the third ‘Know Your Rights’ we have had this week. Two days ago, we did it in Rantoul and also online.”
The workshop did not shy away from details, even teaching participants what an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official’s badge looks like and what phrases to use in English if detained.
Guillén added that the NWCA met at the University YMCA with local police departments, who she said sought to clarify their role in immigration policies and affirmed their commitment to following the Illinois TRUST Act.
“(The local and county police) said they were going to adhere to that law,” Guillén said. “That law prohibits police forces from making immigration arrests, from collaborating with immigration agents and also prohibits immigration presence in courts and tribunals.”
This clarification comes after recent news of President Donald Trump prompting ICE to work with local law enforcement to carry out his administration’s plans of mass deportations.
The NAWC also emphasized the significance of Champaign as a Certified Welcoming place and the local impact of its mission.
“We are starting our third year of our ‘welcoming plan,’ the progress that has been made is that Urbana was declared a sanctuary city again,” Diaz said.
Policy and progress go hand in hand, and the NAWC team says it’s about getting people involved, informed and unafraid.
After the discussion, participants were encouraged to ask questions. Some voiced fears, citing supposed sightings of ICE officials in the area, which have since been disproved.
As part of their efforts to fully serve the immigrant community, Guillén and her team have launched workshops to help individuals deal with anxiety and mental stress.
“They don’t want to go out, they don’t want to send the kids to school, they don’t even want to go to work, all out of fear, so we are trying to remove all that uncertainty from them through training,” Guillén said.
NAWC also offers legal assistance, providing personal support and access to external resources. Mymy Gnahoré, a case worker fluent in Spanish, was also present at the event.
“What is very interesting or exciting in this job is how the communities are working together,” Gnahoré said. “To help newcomers to succeed and be established in this community.”
Gnahoré, originally from Côte d’Ivoire, emphasized the diverse communities the NAWC serves.
“Coming here, working for the Latino community was not easy at first because many of them are not Spanish speakers,” Gnahoré said. “They speak Spanish, but also dialects sometimes.”
He referred to the large Q’anjob’al-speaking population in Champaign-Urbana, an indigenous language from Guatemala and Mexico. Despite the language barrier, Gnahoré said, the team strives to meet everyone’s needs.
After the event, children ran around the play area at the entrance. Most adults sorted through clothing donations in the lobby or talked to the center’s representatives to explain their cases privately.
The atmosphere was tense, but Diaz reiterated how knowledge empowers communities, turning fear into action.
“The chaos (the administration is) creating is an opportunity for more people to learn about their rights, for more people to learn their facts,” Diaz said. “For more people to help migrants.”
