THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Just hours after the rally, event organizer Yunuen Rodriguez said that she received a call from Espinoza who said that ICE ( Immigration and Customs Enforcement ) would be releasing her and a few others; however, the rest are still in the detention center. Espinoza and five of the 10 women detainees had been on a hunger strike since Oct. 27.

Espinoza was among 30 undocumented immigrants ICE detained Sept. 30 in El Paso, Texas, as they attempted to return to their homes in the United States. Two weeks ago, the DREAM 30 were given permission to fight their cases in their home states; however, they weren't released. On Oct. 29, Rocio Hernandez Perez, one of the DREAM 30, was deported to Mexico.

"Detention centers have to go and today we are here to do a call to action to Sens. Richard Durbin and Mark Kirk to stop these deportations," said Rodriguez's friend, Jocelyn Munguia. Munguia called on rally attendees to contact Durbin's Chicago and Washington, D.C., offices. When they attempted to do so during the rally, they were immediately sent to voicemail.

"This really points to the intersection of the immigrant and LGBTQ struggle for equality and the ability to lead healthy lives wherever we think home is and not be institutionalized in detention centers," said Rodriguez. "Marcela was raised in Chicago and had to return to Mexico to care for her grandmother and now she is asking to come back home. The life of this queer woman matters because she is queer and undocumented so she represents the oppression that these two groups face."

Espinoza's mom, Carmen Espinoza, and her cousin, Leticia Vargas, were also in attendance and they called on ICE to release Marcela.

Following the rally, Espinoza's family members and friends attempted to visit Durbin's office at Federal Plaza. They were denied entry.

See www.dreamactivist.org and www.facebook.com/NationalImmigrantYouthAlliance for more information.