CHICAGO (WLS) — Hundreds of people gathered in Pilsen on this Good Friday to reflect on Jesus’ final hours.

The community’s Via Crucis is a sacred tradition here…but immigration fears are casting a shadow for some on this holy day.

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One moving station at a time, the Pilsen community is uniting to recount the passion of Jesus Christ before Easter Sunday.

“This is when we need God the most you know? Hopefully we bring them closer,” participant Carlos Ortega said.

This is the 48th year of Pilsen Via Crucis – or “Way of the Cross.”

The dramatic depiction of Christ’s final hours before his death takes the community through pivotal points in the story, from the Last Supper with Jesus’ disciples to his crucifixion and burial in the stone tomb.

“It’s a reminder of all of the stuff that Jesus did for us and how it brings all of us together,” Lunna Avila-De Marchi said.

But this year, there’s a different sort of energy looming over the powerful procession.

“We completely understand why you’re not present here today,” organizer Nellie Quintana said. “We are doing this for you. We are praying for you and we stand with you.”

With deportation threats from ICE and the Trump Administration simmering in the undocumented community, organizers say some are choosing not to attend.

“The streets are emptier,” Quintana said. “The businesses are suffering. The customers are not purchasing as they were before.”

Nellie says others including some who are undocumented are here and actively participating a powerful testament she says to faith over fear

“They have no fear because God lives in their heart. And they know they are doing this to portray that message,” she said.

That organizer also said special prayers are being read to recognize the very real fears some in the immigrant community are facing right now.