Find out the latest legislative updates from this month’s City Council!
Legislative Updates
Resolution Calling on Congress to Preserve and Expand DACA Protections
DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, turned 14 years old this month. To recognize that milestone, Ald. Vasquez introduced a resolution, R2026-0025433, calling on Congress to preserve and expand DACA protections. We held a hearing on June 11th, where we heard testimony from DACA recipients and organizations supporting DACA, including Susana Salgado, Director of Youth Program at Centro Romero, Cecelia Mendoza, Associate Director of Government Relations at National Immigrant Justice Center, Sofia Chunga Pizarro, Program Coordinator, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and Gaby Pacheco and Dr. Hyein Lee from The DREAM US for sharing your testimony with us.
This resolutions comes during a time when DACA rights are under attack from the Trump administration. In Trump’s first term, he tried to rescind DACA outright, but he was overruled by the Supreme Court. Now, in his second term, he is trying to destroy it bureaucratically, by dragging his feet over providing the benefits that DACA recipients are legally entitled to. This past year, DACA recipients have been dealing with huge delays in receiving their work permits and other benefits. Not only that, but Trump’s Board of Immigration Appeals also recently ruled that DACA recipients are no longer shielded from deportation by DACA alone.
DACA recipients grew up in this country, and they contribute to our communities and our local economies every single day. They deserve a path to citizenship. But instead of a path to citizenship, the Trump administration is deliberately putting them at risk of losing their jobs, and losing their freedom. Dreamers deserve better. This resolution declares our support for the preservation and expansion of DACA protections, and calls on Congress to pass legislation that upholds DACA and provides recipients and their families with a clear path to lawful permanent status and U.S. citizenship.
In today’s City Council meeting, Ald. Vasquez also recognized Dreamers from our own community, including:
- Maria Felix Orozco Arroyo, Development Manager & Outreach Coordinator, Street Vendors Association
- Gabriela Ponce, Immigration & Public Health Coordinator, Illinois Workers in Action
- Esmeralda Montesinos, Lead Organizer, The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, ICIRR
- Omar Martinez Gonzalez
- Susana Salgado, Youth Program Director for Centro Romero
- Angel Rubi Navarijo, Director of Neighborhood Services for the 48th Ward and CCPSA Commissioner
- And lastly, our own Diana Perez, Community Engagement Director for the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights, who was honored on the Senate floor this week by Senator Durbin. Those of you who have the privilege to work with Diana know what a gift she is to this city and this country. Her boundless energy and positivity and the fierceness of her love and dedication to this community humbles me every day and we are so lucky to have her.
The resolution passed out of City Council. We are grateful to members of City Council for standing with us in declaring their support for DACA. As these attacks on DACA and our neighbors continue, we must remember that our strength lies in the ability to stand together, shoulder to shoulder, and fight for what’s right. And we will not stop fighting until all Dreamers have a path to citizenship.
Greyhound Bus Terminal
City Council passed O2026-0025512, which allows the City to buy the Greyhound bus terminal, and funds the improvement of the facility. Those improvements will include lighting and pedestrian safety improvements, ADA compliance, bathroom renovations, and other interior improvements. The City will assume operation, though Flix will continue to operate in lieu of paying rent, which is a model that other cities have done successfully.
Ald. Vasquez voted in support of this ordinance to preserve this crucial form of inter-state public transportation. It was passed by the full City Council.