Gutierrez didn\u2019t plan on working in activism. They graduated in 2012 from Illinois Institute of Technology\u2014after attending with a full-ride scholarship\u2014with an architecture degree after dreaming of being an architect their whole life. However, due to their immigration status, they couldn\u2019t work in the field.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gutierrez-said-being-open-about-their-undocumented-status-gives-them-a-sense-of-empowerment-and-help.jpeg\")
Gutierrez said being open about their undocumented status gives them a sense of empowerment and helps them connect with those they assist in the community. Photo courtesy of Fabian Cisneros<\/p>\n
\u201cAt that time, I had just gone through school, and I found myself with no real purpose after graduating,\u201d they said. \u201cI knew that the Immigrant [Youth] Justice League, which a lot of the co-founders of OCAD came from, were already doing some amazing things \u2026 I ended up emailing them and I started attending meetings. It was my first introduction to activism and community organizing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Growing up, Gutierrez\u2019s family wasn\u2019t engaged with politics outside of wanting immigration reform. Gutierrez got involved with the organization during the second Obama administration\u2014to them, it\u2019s important to highlight how deportations have been carried out by both Democrats and Republicans.<\/p>\n
Some of their first experiences with the league were pivoting the work around new DACA regulations, but still working with people getting deported under Obama.<\/p>\n
OCAD originally was volunteer only, so Gutierrez needed to get another job during their first two years with the group\u2014including working as a housing organizer in Albany park and non-attorney staff at Beyond Legal Aid. But those years became what they referred to as \u201ccommunity organizing boot camp,\u201d learning to do everything from press releases to civil disobedience actions.<\/p>\n
By the time they became a full-time employee as a member of OCAD\u2019s development coordination, they had a strong foundation in community organizing. Since then, it\u2019s been nearly six years.<\/p>\n
Recently, OCAD has also been in communication with people in Minneapolis fighting back against ICE raids. They said it\u2019s been amazing to start to create a network beyond state lines.<\/p>\n
Gutierrez has also found power through being open about their undocumented status. They said they appreciate OCAD\u2019s value of being by undocumented people for undocumented people.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the very beginning, the slogan of \u2018Undocumented and Unafraid,\u2019 which we created, has been a component of our organizing work that we do,\u201d they said. \u201cWe lived through the first Trump administration and now the second \u2026 it is using our stories and our courage so that we can inspire others.\u201d<\/p>\n
They said many of the founders, including themselves, are queer. This allowed them to connect with how liberated they felt when they each came out of the closet\u2014similarly to how it felt to \u201ccome out of the shadows\u201d as undocumented. They said in order to really get into social justice and social transformation, that risk must be taken.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to do that so that others are also not feeling like they have to stay in the shadows because ultimately, that\u2019s how they win. That\u2019s how our enemy wins,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
Prior to Trump, there was still real pain and trauma being inflicted by deportations in the community, Gutierrez said. Now with ICE\u2019s actions being publicized on an international stage and more people being aware of immigrant issues, they said they\u2019ve witnessed \u201ca lot of love and showing up for each other\u201d from community members.<\/p>\n
From neighbors wanting to learn about their rights and how to document ICE to building a Chicago rapid response network spanning 36 neighborhoods, people are actively seeking ways to get involved and protect their community.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore people want to get trained,\u201d Gutierrez said. \u201cThey want to create plans for how to respond if ICE shows up to their school, their workplace, or their worship, like church. That\u2019s been an amazing response.\u201d<\/p>\n
People have also approached OCAD about getting involved in other ways, such as donating, providing mutual aid for neighbors and more. They said this has been so powerful to witness in the face of a billion-dollar entity like ICE and has also shown people they can fight back against other aspects of individualism\u2014rent increases, illegal evictions and more.<\/p>\n
Gutierrez\u2019s day-to-day includes a mix of bureaucracy and active involvement. From answering hotlines and dispatching teams to finding support and resources for people, every day looks a little different. Although sometimes their role includes more \u201coffice work,\u201d they still feel deeply fulfilled by getting to directly make change in the community.<\/p>\n
One of their favorite parts of their position is simply helping others feel empowered to believe they can resist a deportation of themselves or a family member. Gutierrez said getting to make such a profound difference to others in those situations makes them glad they didn\u2019t follow their original path to be an architect, and instead ended up with OCAD.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think right now, ultimately, we all have a responsibility to pick a side, to either stand in the right path of history or to be complicit in the harm that is being created right now,\u201d they said. \u201cUltimately, I have to believe\u2014and I truly believe\u2014that we will win. Because we need to believe in that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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