We Are Neighbors

by Juan Muñoz –

Last week, I stood outside the immigration detention center in Broadview, IL to protest with our neighbors.

We were met with the sting of tear gas, and some with welts from pepper ball guns. Alongside other Oak Parkers, I watched as fellow protesters were attacked and as flash bang grenades deployed. The response to peaceful protest was disproportionate.

Our neighbors are taking a stand for those who cannot raise their voices, and they are being met with violence. Some were there in outrage at the presence and actions of immigration officials in their community. One father was there because tear gas wafted over his child’s daycare center while he was dropping him off.

Alongside the physical violence seen in protests, I am pained to see that, as our political rhetoric grows harsher, so too does our everyday conversation. Online, we see people celebrate immigration raids and dismiss the struggles of families with comments like, “If you didn’t break the law, this wouldn’t happen.” We see some outright calling for more indiscriminate enforcement or escalation of violence.

Such words ignore not only due process, but also the fundamental humanity of people in our own communities. There are families living in fear: a mother who fears letting her kids go to school; a father sleeping at a job site because he cannot risk losing the income for his family.

This climate doesn’t just harm individuals; it weakens the bonds of community. When families live in fear, when children are silenced from speaking their language, when neighbors are attacked for daring to gather, we all lose something essential.

I do not believe most of the immigration officers carrying out these orders wake up each day intent on cruelty. But cruelty is what these actions amount to. However it is rationalized—whether as protecting safety, following orders, or defending the law—the result is the same: brutality against families and neighbors. No badge, no order, and no policy can ever justify the treatment of those being detained or the use of chemical weapons on community members standing in peace. This is not protection; it is violence justified as patriotism. And it tears apart the trust, dignity, and unity that true public safety depends on.

We cannot look away from what is happening at Broadview, and in numerous other communities across the country. Oak Parkers must become more directly involved—through learning, showing up at vigils and protests, supporting immigrant neighbors, and demanding accountability for the violence carried out in our country’s name. Awareness must lead to action. Only then can we build a commUNITY that truly protects, includes, and honors all of its people.

Juan Muñoz is an Oak Park Township trustee. He was detained by ICE agents outside its facility in Broadview, Illinois on Friday, October 3, 2025 while taking part in a protest. He was released later that afternoon.