Evening Song

My song will rest while I rest. I struggle along. I’ll get back to the corn and
the open fields. Don’t fret, love, I’ll come out all right.

Back of Chicago the open fields. Were you ever there—trains coming toward
you out of the West—streaks of light on the long gray plains? Many a
song—aching to sing.

I’ve got a gray and ragged brother in my breast—that’s a fact. Back of
Chicago the open fields—long trains go west too—in the silence. …

Sociologist Xóchitl Bada

Shaken, Not Stirred. Gin, Not Vodka.

Sociologist Xóchitl Bada studies the civic, cultural, and political participation of Chicago-based Mexican migrant hometown associations at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Before participating in a panel on what …

Immigration Attorney Carlina Tapia-Ruano

Pardon My Interruption

Immigration attorney Carlina Tapia-Ruano is the founder of Chicago firm Tapia-Ruano & Gunn P.C. and a past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Before participating in a panel on …

Reporter Antonio Olivo

I’ll Say It: Chicago Has Better Mexican Food Than Los Angeles

Reporter Antonio Olivo covers immigration, housing, and development for the Chicago Tribune. Before moderating a panel on what immigration reform would mean for Chicago, he admitted in the Zócalo green …

The Windy City Says Bring It On, Immigration Reform

Chicago Can Process the Paperwork, Integrate the Newcomers, and Get Them Working

What might comprehensive immigration reform look like—around the country and in Chicago, a longtime city of immigrants—if Congress passes a bill that gives the 11 million undocumented people living in …

First Comes Immigration Reform, Then Comes … What?

Assessing the Challenges Facing a Half-Million Chicagoans

Congress’ passage of a comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) bill would mark the end of a contentious political battle. But for undocumented immigrants all over the country—as well as their families, …