Join us for an illuminating conversation with Illinois Rep. Delia Ramirez, the daughter of working-class Guatemalan immigrants and the first Latina elected to Congress from the entire Midwest. She is one of the most vocal members of Congress on immigration justice, human rights, housing equity, and U.S. foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere. As co-chair of the Congressional Anti-Corruption and Democracy Reform Task Force, Ramirez rallies her colleagues to challenge Trump’s immigration policies and defend the rights of vulnerable communities.

Ramirez will explore the structural and historical forces driving mass migration today, focusing on the long-term impact of U.S. intervention abroad and how it connects to present-day displacement. Drawing on her lived experience growing up in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood and her decades of advocacy for working families, she brings a grounded perspective shaped by communities directly impacted by immigration policy, economic inequality, and underinvestment.

EVENT DETAILS:

• Remarks and Q&A, in-person and via Zoom.
• 5 p.m., complimentary hors d'oeuvres and cash bar; 5:45 p.m., remarks followed by audience Q&A.
• Zoom only: $10. In-person: members: $25, nonmembers: $35 (plus tax).

Ramirez represents Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District, serving on the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, where she is Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Before serving in Congress, Ramirez spent nearly two decades as a nonprofit leader advancing housing justice, government accountability, and racial and economic equity. She served as executive director of the Center for Changing Lives, campaign manager at Common Cause Illinois, and deputy director of the Community Renewal Society.