Allies for Community Business believes that community business owners in Chicagoland need and deserve our support and respect. Starting and growing a small business is challenging enough in a normal economic environment; it is particularly difficult when the entrepreneurs, their families, their employees, their employees’ families, and their customers are targeted illegally solely based on the color of their skin or the language they speak.
As always, A4CB supports small businesses throughout Illinois and Indiana by providing the capital, coaching, and connections entrepreneurs need.
As a response to the current environment in which entrepreneurs are operating, we will share resources provided by community partners by linking to them below. As the situation shifts, guidance changes, and resources evolve, we will post them here.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur worried about your business, a parent concerned for your family, or a community member looking to support your neighbors, here are some important resources created by trusted partners offering guidance.
If you need assistance due to ICE detention or to report any suspected ICE sightings, call the Family Support Hotline at
1-855-HELP-MY-FAMILY
(1-855-435-7693)
English/Spanish/Korean/Polish
- Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR)
- ICIRR provides up-to-date information on immigrant rights, emergency planning (including how to create a deportation safety plan), and advocacy opportunities.
- ICIRR offers Know Your Rights (KYR) materials on their website in multiple languages, and they facilitate KYR training sessions.
- Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (IHCC)
- In collaboration with the General Consulate of Mexico in Chicago and other community organizations, IHCC has launched Tools to Protect Your Business, a webpage designed to provide small business owners and their employees with the information and guidance they need to ensure their business can continue operating in the event of deportation.
- Arise Chicago
- Arise Chicago supports workers and families with Know Your Rights (KYR) trainings and workplace protections.
- Download toolkits (including printable signs to post at your place of work and individual KYR cards to print) for immigrant workers and employers in multiple languages from the Arise Chicago website.
- The Resurrection Project (TRP)
- Hands Off Chicago
- You can print your own Hands Off Chicago (and Fuera de Chicago) window signs to put up in your home or business to show solidarity for your neighbors.
- Hands Off Chicago is a grassroots effort to oppose military intervention in Chicago.
- You can sign up for a Solidarity Training, a Migra Watch Training, or a Rapid Response Training to join efforts in your local community.
- If you have issues finding a training near you, please reach out to ICIRR (info@icirr.org) to find the member and partner organization closest to you.
- You can reach out to your local Alderman’s office to learn about efforts happening in your community.
- You can contact your local grocery store or food bank to ask about delivering groceries to neighbors who are afraid to leave their homes.
- You can put your money where your mouth is and spend money at Hispanic-owned small businesses that have been affected by the current situation. Go out of your way to spend your money in the communities hardest hit on Chicago’s South and West sides.
We encourage you to explore these resources, share them with others, and reach out if you need support. This post will be updated as new tools and guidance become available.
You are not alone. We are here for you.