Leading up to the presidential election, Donald Trump promised to deport millions of undocumented migrants, as part of the “largest deportation operation in the history of our country.”
With Trump’s election victory earlier this month, that rhetoric has led to a wave of fear among migrants — documented or otherwise — in Lake County, where some of the thousands of migrants bused to the Chicago area from Texas over the past year were taken in.
Irma Wilson, a senior staff attorney focused on immigration with the Northern Suburban Legal Aid Clinic in Highland Park, said it has been working to, “figure out how we’re going to best help our clients.”
“Obviously, there’s been a lot of anti-immigrant rhetoric, so people are already calling scared and wanting to know what’s going to happen,” Wilson said.
That help includes family and humanitarian-based petitions, ranging from people married to U.S. citizens and green card renewals to asylum. The clinic was “on standby,” Wilson said, as it prepared for what changes could come after January, when Trump is sworn into office.
“People are worried, even people that have green cards,” she said. “They’re worried about whether this can affect them.”
Although Wilson expressed uncertainty about what the future will hold, Dulce Ortiz, executive director of Mano a Mano Family Resource Center, had dire predictions, pointing to Trump’s promises of mass deportation.
“We know what’s coming,” Ortiz said. “It’s like you’re seeing this big tsunami coming, and you know it’s coming at you. But what do you do? Where do you go for safety? How can you best prepare yourself?”
Prior to the election, she said she’d spoken to some Latino families planning to vote for Trump. They believed he was “just saying that,” she said. But Ortiz says she has seen, “what the president-elect is capable of.”
“I just had to remind them he said that when he first ran, and he did a lot of damage to our community,” Ortiz said. “He separated families. What makes you think he’s not going to do it now, and in an even greater capacity?”
The rhetoric has been painful for both Wilson, an immigrant herself, and Ortiz, who has an undocumented loved one.
“Most of these people, this is their country, this is their home, even if they’re undocumented,” Wilson said. “They just want to be able to stay and contribute like everybody else. Their main goal and concern is for them to be able to live safely here.”
There is some comfort in residing in a more immigrant-friendly state, with rules prohibiting law enforcement from working directly with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But that provides no guarantee of safety, Ortiz said, if local officials cave to federal pressure.
“How are our elected leaders going to react?” she asked. “Will they go back on their word … because they’re no longer able to get federal funding?”
‘How can we protect our community’
Ortiz and Wilson said they’ve had people reaching out concerned about how to prepare for what may be ahead.
Both organizations help educate documented and undocumented migrants learn about their rights, including a series of public know-your-rights training sessions from Mano a Mano planned in the coming months, and other resources.
“You feel a lot of anxiety, worry,” Ortiz said. “You start to think: ‘How can we protect our community? How can we protect our loved ones? How can we protect our team members?’” Ortiz said.
Wilson expressed some optimism, despite the national rhetoric.
“It’s upsetting to realize that not everybody is accepting of immigrants when we have so much to give,” Wilson said. “It’s been upsetting personally, but I’m hopeful. I’m thankful we’re an immigrant-friendly state.”
Despite her fears, Ortiz is well aware of the support the community has. It “made it through four years” before, she said.
A statement Ortiz and Mano a Mano sent out to community members promises they are “not alone.” It called for unity for protecting oppressed and marginalized people, and thanked allied organizations, including the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
“Our commitment to our community members, our team, our friends and family remains steadfast,” Ortiz’s statement said. “We will continue to protect and fight for our immigrant families, DACA and Dreamers included.”