“They ask me, ‘What is going to happen to us? Should we start planning to go back, or try to stay and live in constant fear?’” said Lucia Maldonado, describing the questions her students’ parents raise as immigration enforcement intensifies.
Maldonado is the Latino family liaison for the Urbana school district and an advocate for many immigrant families.
In classrooms across the district, Maldonado has watched how the concerns about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are changing students’ behavior — and where they feel safe. Maldonado said in an interview there is deep mistrust of community leadership by immigrant families. For many families in the school district, she is one of the only people they can trust.
Across the United States, immigration enforcement has surged into national headlines. Large-scale arrests in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and Minneapolis have drawn scrutiny over tactics, legalities and the human cost of enforcement.
Community leaders, including law enforcement and elected officials have said immigration arrests in Champaign County have been few. Since Oct. 23, 2025, local officials and community leaders have publicly acknowledged the presence of federal agents in the area but so far only two arrests by ICE have been reported.
On April 1, 2025, two men were detained by ICE at the Champaign County Courthouse. Agents told county officials they had administrative warrants that allowed immigration officials to detain the men.
Former Congressional candidate and local Champaign-Urbana activist, Dylan Blaha, was at the forefront of calls for action. Blaha said in an interview he had received tips from both Immigration Services of Urbana-Champaign and the YMCA New American Welcome Center that there would be a large influx of ICE agents in the region on Monday, April 27, 2026.
These warnings spread rapidly through social media and local advocacy groups. The community mobilized through protest and sharing information on interacting with ICE. But there was no influx.
While these tips have turned out to be about increased FBI investigations and mass arrests related to a drug investigation, Blaha said that he did not regret posting:
“I think it’s important for our community members to know about what is going on, what’s potentially going on, and what’s potentially going to happen,” Blaha said.
Blaha said he and several other whistleblowers received pushback from the community for their statements. Indeed, the Urbana Mayor’s office released a statement on April 25, 2026 saying the threat had not been confirmed, but they were actively monitoring the situation.
“There were over 100 federal agents in the area [in late April],” Blaha said. “They weren’t technically ICE agents, but that doesn’t really mean anything when we know that 25% of all FBI agents have been rerouted to immigration arrests and immigration enforcement.”
The Washington Post reported around 25% of all FBI agents have been rerouted to immigration arrests and immigration enforcement activity. Previously, the Department of Homeland Security deputized IRS agents for immigration-related arrests.
Champaign County home to significant immigrant population
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 five-year estimate, 14.2% of Champaign County’s roughly 212,000 residents are foreign-born, making it home to one of the largest immigrant populations in central Illinois.
Only 32.4% of the county’s foreign-born population was identified as naturalized U.S. citizens.
On April 17, the nonprofit organization Immigrant Services of Champaign-Urbana (ISCU) held a forum at The Literary in Champaign, for community leaders to answer questions on immigration enforcement in the area.
Executive Director Maria Jimenez of Immigrant Services said families are dealing with the emotional toll caused by immigration enforcement.
“There is a large conversation around self deportation,” she said in an interview.
Over the past year, she said work with the organization’s clients has shifted from stabilizing immigrants to get the point of asylum to concerns about whether that process is endangering them or their families.
Many of those involved in immigration work are also having these conversations with their own families. Francisco Baires, the director of the YMCA’s New American Welcome Center, said his team “…is 99% made up of the immigrant refugee population that [they] serve.”
Family liaison Maldonado said a lot of her students are experiencing trauma, either through what they see on the news or what they are hearing at home.
Illinois has some legal protections against ICE
The Illinois TRUST Act, enacted in 2017, bars local law enforcement agencies from detaining individuals solely on the basis of immigration status or from complying with ICE detainer requests unless accompanied by a criminal warrant. It also prohibits local agencies from allowing ICE to use local facilities for interrogations, or entering into agreements that deputize local officers as immigration enforcement agents.
The City of Urbana has historically been a sanctuary city for undocumented immigrant populations. A sanctuary city is a region where local authorities are limited or restricted when sharing information with federal immigration officers.
Local policies, combined with the statewide efforts like the Illinois TRUST Act, are why many community advocates hypothesize why the mass deportation efforts remain in large cities like Chicago.
Local immigration services
Local activists and organizations have shared that tracking ICE activity in central Illinois is incredibly difficult.
Brian Dolinar, a local independent journalist who tracks and reports on immigration, said in an interview that people are taken to detention facilities in Missouri, Wisconsin or Indiana before being transferred farther south.
For families, this creates immediate instability because locating a detained relative, acquiring legal representation and sustaining communication become extremely difficult as things change daily.
For immigrants in Champaign County who encounter federal enforcement — or fear they might — the available legal and support infrastructure is limited but active:
- The Immigration Project, which has a Champaign office on Devonshire Drive, provides legal assistance to immigrants across central Illinois.
- Immigration Services of Champaign-Urbana offers case management, legal orientation, and referral services.
- The Refugee Center of Champaign-Urbana provides resettlement support.
- The New American Welcome Center at the University YMCA focuses on integration and community engagement.
At the state level, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights has been among the most active organizations monitoring ICE activity and pushing back on enforcement practices statewide.
As fear of enforcement continues, more families are seeking legal consultations, inquiring about safety planning and asking for guidance on what the next steps might look like for noncitizens.
At the University of Illinois, the possibility of ICE on campus reshaped campus life for many students. Guidance from the University of Illinois Office of the Vice Chancellor for Access, Civil Rights, and Community, outlines how to respond if federal agents are present, but this procedure does not mitigate emotional distress. The office was formerly known as the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
According to interviews and online correspondence with students at the Illinois Coalition Assisting Undocumented Students’ Education (I-CAUSE), immigrant and international students report heightened anxiety, uncertainty about their status and fear of how quickly their lives can be disrupted.
Community members and advocates continue to emphasize the impact of enforcement is most visible in what the community has stopped doing.
Maldonado said she wished for a community center where her students and their families could feel safe.
She said families are avoiding public spaces, are hesitating to seek medical care and are less likely to interact with authorities. For her students, she said the effects emerge through anxiety, absenteeism and difficulty concentrating.