In Chicago's Mexican-American neighborhoods, carefully crafted altars to La Virgen de Guadalupe have emerged as sites of community and resilience, transforming sidewalks into sanctuaries against the shadow of ICE's presence.

The altars, often built by hands accustomed to both labor and craft, encapsulate more than just aesthetic beauty. They embody the symbols, skills, histories, and inherited knowledge that make handiwork dense with meaning, serving as a testament to the enduring spirit of home-making.

These devotional spaces remind us that home isn't just a physical place but a state of being, one that can be recreated and reimagined, even in the harshest of environments. The altars, raised collectively, form an overlooked American craft tradition, rooted in the migrant and homesteading experiences of reconstructing home in new and often hostile surroundings.

The National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago has long celebrated this tradition, but the everyday, unassuming altars on porches and storefronts have received less attention. These altars, however, are not just symbols of faith but of community and a shared history of resilience.

Photographs from the past 15 years document the evolution of these altars, from the familiar to the new, reflecting the ongoing journey of home-making in the face of displacement and uncertainty. Each altar tells a story of craft and care, reminding us that home is more than a place—it's a concept that can be carried in the heart and the hands.