Slightly more than an hour after she was released Monday from federal custody for allegedly impeding a federal investigation, Dariana Fajardo arrived at Waukegan City Hall to say thank you to supporters, and before she left, she received four standing ovations.
Arriving during a City Council meeting, she quietly took a seat and initially went unnoticed. As she sat there, she heard speaker after speaker talk about what happened to her earlier in the afternoon, when U.S. Border Patrol agents pulled her from her car and took her into custody.
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More than 30 people spoke collectively for more than an hour during the time allotted for audience participation. Many talked about the impact of President Donald Trump’s pursuit of undocumented people in the country, others about Fajardo’s treatment and a few about different subjects.
Fajardo received a hero’s welcome when she identified herself at the meeting in front of the standing-room-only crowd of more than 150 people.
Assuring the crowd she was “okay,” Fajardo said she came to thank Mayor Sam Cunningham for intervening with federal agents on her behalf earlier in the day to secure her car, as well as Dulce Ortiz, the executive director of Mano a Mano Family Resource Center, for finding her a lawyer.
“I want you to take the attention off me and focus on something that really matters because I’m okay,” Fajardo said. “Stand up for what you believe in. Go out there. There’s power in numbers.
“They can’t arrest everybody,” she added, prompting her third standing ovation.
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She stood behind Maggie Hinojosa, a school social worker, at the podium with Lake County Board member Esiah Campos, D-Round Lake Beach, at her side.
Hinojosa said she saw what happened to Fajardo earlier that day, “knowing she had done nothing to warrant such treatment other than expressing her First Amendment rights.”
Hinojosa said she fears for her community.
“Children in our neighborhoods are now afraid to go to school,” she said. “The damage being done is deep and long-lasting. This is not who we are. We must not allow this injustice to shape the future of our city.”
Turning to Fajardo behind her, Hinojosa went on to introduce her and the crowd rose to its feet with more than a minute of applause. City Clerk Janet Kilkelly said Fajardo was scheduled to be the final speaker.
“I want to do something for the community,” Fajardo said.
Speaking early in the meeting, Cunningham said he was saddened by the fear gripping Waukegan as federal agents, including those from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), look for people not legally in the country.
“There is a real sense of fear spread throughout our city,” he said. “Businesses are seeing fewer customers. Children are going to school worrying about what’s happening around them. Quite frankly, it hurts.”
As Cunningham was speaking, chants were heard from a demonstration varying in size from 75 to 100 people on the plaza outside City Hall, not only objecting to what happened to Fajardo but the actions of ICE around the city and Lake County.
Don Gross, a Round Lake Beach resident and a member of the Party of Socialism and Liberation, was one of the organizers. He said children are being terrorized and people are being deprived of their rights.
“We came to show our support for the immigrant community, and what is happening to them,” he said. “We’re demonstrating for the right of free speech and education.”
Carolina Fabian, a member of the Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 Board of Education, who came in her individual capacity, said history is unfolding in front of everyone and they should take a stand. The divisiveness is coming from the policies of the Donald Trump administration, she said.
“This is not about right or left, Democrat or Republicans, or catching criminals,” Fabian said. “It is about targeting a certain group — Latinos. Our community is being harassed. Our families are being harmed. I urge you to be morally right and decide what side of history you want to be on.”
Robert Salazar said he usually has a smile on his face, and makes an effort to get others to laugh. That, he said, is getting harder to do. He urged people in the room to take action to make a difference.
“I just can’t do it right now,” Salazar said. “Those who are neutral are on the side of injustice. Those who are silent are on the side of oppression. I believe the only thing to get to a resolution is action.”