SBI members line the sidewalks along the busy intersection.
Sisters and Brothers of Immigrants (SBI) stood together at a busy Chicago intersection in witness to the dignity and rights of immigrants earlier this month.
Br. Michael Gosch, CSV and several Catholic religious women and men from SBI led a public demonstration in Brighton Park, a majority Hispanic/Latino neighborhood. While standing quietly, they displayed signs to passersby with messages such as “stop deportations,” “no to separation of families,” “immigrants and refugees welcome,” “hold on to hope,” and “immigration fuels our nation.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, SBI held public witness more frequently, but they had paused their actions out of public health concerns. Now with COVID-19 more controlled and the new administration enacting increasingly harsher immigration policies, SBI has pledged to resume regular public witness. Recently, the Provincial Council released a public statement in response to these new immigration policies.
The demonstrators gather on the lawn to prepare before taking up their posts along the busy roads.
This restart began on Saturday, March 1, when SBI gathered at the intersection of Pershing Road, Archer Avenue, and Rockwell Street on the southwest side of Chicago. SBI will gather for public witness again on Friday, March 28, 5-6pm, in Arlington Heights at the busy intersection of Arlington Heights Road and Northwest Highway.
Viatorians and our community members are invited to join this one-hour witness by coming to stand together and display messages of justice and hope.
To learn more about the March 1 witness, read this recent article from Chicago Catholic.
SBI is a collective voice seeking justice for immigrants. For more on the history and mission of SBI, visit their webpage.
The largest, more colorful banner read, “Immigrants & Refugees Welcome”