Marleen Menendez Suarez’s law firm has been busy over the past few days, and it is all because of a Facebook post she published on Jan. 20 saying that she would prepare legal guardianship and power of attorney documents for free for anyone who fears deportation.
“People are very afraid, and they're very afraid for their children because many of them are U.S. citizens,” Suarez said. “What they're facing is, if both mom and dad get deported, what happens to their kids, and this is what occurred to me, too. This is why I started doing what I was doing.”
On a cold weekday afternoon, about 30 women, children and a handful of men crowded into Suarez’s small Fairmont City, Illinois, law office. Some had been waiting for about an hour to have her to sign legal guardianship documents for their children, and others came by for power of attorney documents to protect their homes.
About every 10 minutes, clients walked out, and a few more walked in. Most came in with people who could help translate legal information for their mixed-status family members.
Fairmont City is about 6 miles east of downtown St. Louis. It’s home to more than 2,300 people, and nearly 70% of the population is from Mexico. Years ago, many immigrants and people without legal status settled into the city to work at a now-shuttered Zinc plant. The community is now filled with small-business owners and construction and warehouse workers.
Suarez said that the area’s Hispanic community is vibrant and that the entire city would suffer if so many families were broken apart.
“The foster care system is not equipped to handle these children, and it would be a disaster for both the system and the kids,” she said. “We are very lucky in Illinois that we have a very particular law that's called a Standby Guardianship, so I took advantage of that. You don't have to go to court; you don't have to do anything. You can just appoint somebody to be the guardian of your children in case you cannot take care of them.”
![Manuel Trujillo, 44, of Overland, marches alongside roughly 100 community members march to protest President Donald Trump’s policy changes around immigration on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, in Overland. “I’m out here to support our people because they are instilling [so] much fear,” he said in Spanish.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b3666f2/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x2000+0+0/resize/840x560!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3a%2Fee%2Fd6b5fe9342c298d2c1346f20bf97%2F012525-bm-immigration-13.jpg)
'It’s scary'
Genesis sat quietly in the office while she waited to speak with Suarez about legal guardianship for her children. Genesis fears deportation; St. Louis Public Radio is not using her last name so she could speak freely.
At times, she was in deep thought, and in other moments she engaged in conversation with her family members and friends. She said the past few weeks have been terrifying.
“It's scary, especially now that I have kids. I want them to be safe,” she said.
Genesis has lived in the Metro East with her family almost all her life. She said the St. Louis region is home. Ever since her friends and family learned about raids in other cities, Genesis said people in Fairmont City are not leaving their homes, and many are barely going to work.
“If you have to order food, order it online, so there's a lot of Walmart delivery and Instacart,” she said.
Genesis lives in a mixed-status household with her three children, who were all born in the U.S. She said her children are her top priority, and she wants to make sure they are all together if she gets deported to Mexico.
“I feel a bit of relief knowing that I am getting things prepared,” Genesis said. “I feel calm. I feel like I made a big step ahead and that I'm prepared for whatever happens.”
She even told her children what to say if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents come to their schools to try to detain students who do not have legal status.
“I have been telling my son and my daughter, if immigration goes to school, to tell them that they're American citizens and tell them where they were born,” she said.
‘Community support’
Many Hispanic and Latin American people in the area are panicking after hearing the news of deportations in cities around the country. In Overland last week, over 100 people protested against President Trump’s executive orders for federal agents to carry out mass deportations. During the protest, people were handing out “Know Your Rights” fliers in Spanish to better inform people without legal status about how to protect themselves or family members when encountering immigration agents.
“I received these from the place that I work at … they wanted me to spread out the information,” Fatima Suarez said. “ These [are] what to do … if they get detained in public, in their houses or at workplaces, and it’s a link to a website on how to handle the situations.”
As a child, Fatima was separated from her parents, who were sent to detention centers in California and Arizona because she was a U.S. citizen and her parents were not at the time. She spent time in foster care and said it was a horrific moment in her life. She wants to make sure that every immigrant in the area is informed about their rights so they will not have to experience the effects of deportation.
She hopes the federal government will enact laws that give immigrants an easier pathway to citizenship.
Some St. Louisans have used social media to post federal immigration agent sightings. People posted videos and photos of agents in neighborhoods, grocery stores and restaurants. Agents being visible to the community is causing fear among many immigrants.
St. Louis Public Radio contacted ICE multiple times to confirm whether people have been detained in the area and deported, but the agency has not responded.
Many residents have questioned if local law enforcement agencies were helping ICE locate people living in the area without legal status. St. Louis County Police Department officials say they do not have any partnerships with federal law enforcement agencies to perform and enforce immigration duties.
“Our policy states the following: ‘If it is determined that the prisoner is in the United States unlawfully, the arresting officer shall notify the Department of Homeland Security Law Enforcement Support Center for further instructions,’” said Sgt. Tracy Panus, spokesman for the St. Louis County Police Department.
A St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department spokesman said police are monitoring “executive and legislative action on both the state and federal levels.” Department officials did not state whether they have partnerships with federal law enforcement agencies to enforce immigration duties.
To help ease some of those fears, other local attorneys, advocates and community organizations are hosting public and private “Know Your Rights” events, including the MICA Project, Vitendo4Africa and St. Francis Community Services.
David, a senior at Ritenour High School, organized the protest in Overland last week. St. Louis Public Radio will not use his last name to protect his safety. David said he organized the protest because he was upset that his father, who does not have legal status, might get deported.
“He works, he pays taxes … all he gets in return is fear in his heart about getting separated from his family,” he said. “That’s why I came up with this [protest] because I know there’s hundreds of children that have to go through the same thing I have to.”
David hopes immigrant families can be supported better.
“I think it's time we come together and we really make a change in the community,” he said.
