Photos by Camilla Forte/Borderless Magazine/ Catchlight Local/ Report for America In response to recent ICE raids, Chicago Goth Scene organized a benefit concert to raise funds for the National Immigrant Justice Center and stand in solidarity with impacted families.
Lights flashed, people swayed and music pulsed as fog filled the air.
It could have been any goth show in Chicago, but the people who attended the F—k ICE Benefit Show at The Point in Wicker Park were ignited by more than just a passion for music.
They aimed to raise funds for the National Immigrant Justice Center, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that provides free and low-cost legal services to immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
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Organizers Natalie Flores and Chelsea Medina of Chicago Gothic Scene say they were moved to action after seeing the impact of ICE raids on immigrant communities.
Last month, ICE agents targeted Don Pedro’s Carnitas restaurant in Pilsen, leaving communities on edge.
“We wanted it to be a space where people know they can reach out, get help, and see that people are out there who love their families, who love their community,” Flores said.
In 2024, Flores and Medina started the Chicago Gothic Scene Instagram page to aggregate and advertise upcoming goth shows to a broader audience. As ICE raids intensified, they saw an opportunity to use their growing platform to make a difference.
The pair approached Alec Journey, the booker and promoter of Sinister Sundays, a weekly goth music series at The Point. He said he was immediately on board with hosting the benefit show.
“The Latin community out here is a huge part of the Goth scene,” said Journey, who is also one half of the band Miss Misery. “We want to support because those are our friends and our family, and when they get affected.”
As people milled into the venue to the sounds of distorted guitar, melancholy lyrics, and rich atmospheric synthesizers, attendees paid for their entry with a donation at the door.
Shirts with the words “Chicago Goths Against Ice” were for sale at the merch table for those wanting to give more, alongside free informational materials such as QR codes linking to immigration resources and Know Your Rights cards.
Flores and Medina curated the lineup, including Fantasma Negra, Grave Love, Miss Misery, The Static Age, and Lidia Vomito, to feature primarily Latino acts with close ties to immigrant communities. The bands blended post-punk music references with visual aesthetics referencing themes from Victorian style to classic horror. Their introspective performances explored themes of grief, longing and rage.
With over one hundred people attending, the event raised $1,800 in entry fees and t-shirt sales.
“I feel that this is an opportunity to use our platform as a band to just offer a sense of healing and a sense of community, a sense of hope that these policies will not impact us as human beings,” said Alicia Gonzalez Quiroga of Fantasma Negra. “We’re going to keep being ourselves and just continue fighting the good fight.”
Camilla Forte is a CatchLight fellow and Report for America Corps Member covering immigrant communities for Borderless Magazine. She can be reached at [email protected]
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