On the eve of Election Day, four teams of two went door-to-door Monday morning in Little Village with flyers advocating one central message: Vote a pro-immigrant ballot.
The effort was part of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights’ voter outreach campaign meant to turn out the “pro-immigrant vote,” meaning immigrants, first-time naturalized citizens or anybody who wants to vote on issues that matter to immigrant communities, said Veronica Castro, deputy director of the coalition.
The nonpartisan group, which partnered with 17 partner agencies to promote civic participation this election, ventured out in teams to immigrant-heavy Chicago-area neighborhoods throughout Monday and over the weekend, leaving election-related literature at doorsteps to minimize face-to-face contact because of COVID-19.
“This was that last touch we could do before Election Day,” Castro said, “so it was really important to be able to have that presence in the community, I think, as we could, given that we are still in the midst of a pandemic.”
The coalition has put on similar canvassing events in past elections, though this year required significant adjustments and extra sensitivity with the pandemic since Black and brown communities have been hit hardest by it, Castro said.
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The adjustments also have extended beyond Monday’s event, with most events in the coalition’s voter outreach campaign held virtually, Castro added. But even with the alterations, the group has been able to reach more than 70,000 people and has made 1.3 million calls to Illinois voters.
Brandon Lee, a coalition spokesman, said the organization has reached many voters who plan to cast their vote on Election Day. He said the coalition has been trying to reach neighborhoods across various Chicago-area counties because the immigrant community is growing “outside of the city of Chicago.”
“The immigrant community is diverse in itself,” Lee said. “And I think that one of the great things … is that we’re really trying to build capacity and build political power in immigrant communities across the board.”
People have been receptive to the coalition’s outreach and are engaging in the election in a way they haven’t before, Castro said. In Latino and immigrant communities, part of that drive is “feeling the weight of what’s on our shoulders.”
“The criminalization of our communities is very real,” she said. “And so the fearmongering that’s been out there is very present, and one way that people are going to push back is by going out to the polls or encouraging or educating people that can vote.”
Heading into Election Day, the coalition plans to conduct about 200,000 calls before the polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Though Lee said the coalition is aware it may not know the results by that night, he feels confident “that we’ve done our job.”
“If you ask any one of our staff, any one of our fellows, ‘Could you have done an extra day of this?’ — we left it all out there,” Lee said. “We’ve done what we can and we’ll see how it goes.”