The faces of immigration

Thousands are expected to march May 1 in Chicago for immigration reform. One person who won’t be there: Elvira Arellano, a mother and undocumented immigrant from Mexico who’s sought refuge in a sanctury. She and her young son have been living in Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood for more than eight months.

We feature a set of stories, video and audio that focus on her story and the complex issues surrounding immigration. See Elvira Arellano at the church in a news video edited by Kimberly Trefilek and her story about Elvira and her son, Saul.=page:who-would-jesus-deporther story about Elvira and her son, Saul.

There are an estimated 3 million U.S. citizen children with at least one undocumented parent. While his mother has stayed put at the church, Saul Arellano, 8, has traveled to Washington, D.C., Miami and Mexico City speaking out on her behalf. Reporter Silvana Tabares-Flores brings us the story from Saul’s perspective in print and audio.

Elvira Arellano has lived in sanctuary at a church since Aug. 15, 2006. But the original sanctuary movement is more than 20 years old. Reporter Stacie Johnson writes about this ever-changing movement.

Immigration officials have stepped up raids against undocumented workers, their employers and fraudulent ID makers. Julia Gray gives us the latest on the most recent raids.

Our immigration project was reported by Columbia College Chicago Journalism students, both graduate and undergraduate. Contact adviser and Journalism Department Faculty Member Teresa Puente Tpuente@colum.eduTpuente@colum.edu with questions or comments.