On Monday, immigrant families and community groups from Illinois and Wisconsin met with local ICE Director Ricardo Wong. The meeting was previously scheduled for July, but was postponed by Director Wong. The families and groups left Monday’s meeting feeling cautiously optimistic, Director Wong promised to work with the groups on future and existing deportation cases.

During the meeting families facing deportation presented their cases to Director Wong, including the family of Wilson Gomez, who has been detained for over a year on a previous order of deportation. Wilson has two United States citizen children.

While the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants wait for the President to fulfill his promise to take administrative action and address the deportation crisis, Illinois families continue to face deportation along with more than 1000 people nationwide every day.

Families and immigration advocates will continue to demand action from the President and press local ICE Director Wong to take a more proactive role in keeping families together. The groups hope to establish a working relationship with the local ICE Director before the President’s announcement of administrative relief, expected before the end of summer. People facing deportation should call ICIRR’s hotline at (855) 435-7693 for assistance with their deportation cases.