Welcoming asylum seekers is what Illinois should be about

Asylum seekers share food as they load onto a bus to take them to a refugee center outside Union Station in Chicago on Aug. 31. (Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times)

For me, home means Burr Ridge. I love my village; it is a friendly and culturally diverse community. We moved here almost 20 years ago to be part of the community and build a better future for my family and for my neighbors.

I cannot imagine how it would feel if my home turned on me, and this once-safe place became the site of persecution or violence. To be torn from the place you’ve made your home is deeply traumatic, yet it is the shadow that many of the recent immigrants to Illinois by way of Texas are living under as they search for a safe place to land.