Waiting for raids against illegal immigrants: migrants miss work, hide and prepare for the worst

Recently, US President Donald Trump announced that immigration and customs agents (ICE) are preparing a massive raid against illegal migrants and their families across the country. After the announcement, the 41-year-old housekeeper and nanny from Miami and her daughter went to the grocery store, writes CNN.

Фото: Depositphotos

They knew that they would have to spend a lot of time locked up at home, so they had to stock up on food.

“I felt like a hurricane was coming that day,” an illegal migrant from Nicaragua told CNN.

On Sunday, 14 July agents can conduct the promised raid. Anxiety in illegal immigrant communities is increasing.

On the subject: One-way ticket: how illegal immigrants are deported from the US

Illegals prepare for raid

They call hotlines, are afraid to go out and do not know where to turn. Some stay at home and do not go to work. Others hang signs at the door of the house about what to do if ICE agents appear.

Last night a woman woke up from a nightmare

A Miami housekeeper says that the day she decided to stock up on food, the shelves of the local store were already suspiciously empty. According to her, people are afraid to go out. From the store she returned with a clear plan.

“I said to myself, ‘Okay, we’ll lower the blinds on the windows and keep them closed. I don't want any noise. I want everyone to remain calm and not turn on the light in the living room. If they come, they won't know whether we're home or not. I know my rights. I know that I may not open the door. I know a lot about things, but even this knowledge does not save me from fear,” she says.

The woman told her story, but asked to hide her real name under the name Elena. She said that she arrived in the United States more than 20 years ago on a visa that she had overdue during the asylum period.

Elena lost the case in court, but remained in the United States, where, according to her, she built her life, started a family and raised children. She is terrified that she will have to part with them.

“It's a terrible feeling. For the last two days I have been waking up in the middle of the night. My husband asked what was wrong with me, because I started screaming in my sleep,” says the woman.

Scared farm workers do not go to work

Elfido Garcia, who works on a farm and cares for an agave in Homsted, Fla., Has been working for his colleagues for the past week, who are very scared and do not leave the house.

A migrant worker from Guatemala says that he leaves home only to get to work, while realizing that he is already at risk and may be arrested by the authorities.

“Yes, I take risks, but only to fight for my family,” he said.

Since the threat of immigration raids looms over South Florida, the fields that were once filled with workers look empty. More and more ads appear with job offers on farms.

More and more workers are afraid to leave their homes, forcing farm owners to urgently look for new workers for the harvest.

Farm owner Gustavo Serna said that this leads to a loss of harvest.

“Due to the lack of workers, farmers are losing up to 50% of their harvest,” he says.

On the subject: Deportation of your own accord: why emigrants return back

Questions and calls

Migrant advocates say that illegal immigrants throughout the country are afraid of deportation. This is not the first time that migrants know about the threat of raids before they start. This time, many lawyers say that requests for help and questions from migrants began to flow much more intensively.

“There is a lot of panic and fear, although we know that raids happen every year, but this time something is noticeably different,” said Naeem Islam, an immigrant rights specialist at Desis Rising Up & Moving, an advocacy group that works in the South. -Asian and Indo-Caribbean communities in New York.

Many law teams have created hotlines for community members so that they can seek help and report on raids.

“We received a call from a mother who said her daughter was not feeling well but was afraid to go to the doctor. She was trying to figure out how she could safely seek medical care,” said Melissa Taveras, spokeswoman for the Florida Immigrant Coalition.

“We continue to receive calls and messages from people saying they are scared and asking what to do. I've seen this before, but there are more calls than usual, and it really worries me that people are preparing for a raid in fear,” says Melissa.

Across the country, human rights groups conduct “know your rights” trainings and distribute flyers with recommendations on what immigrants should do if ICE agents arrive at their doors.

This is not life

Now that the next ICE operation seems inevitable, Elena says that she does not want to risk staying at home and find out what happens if federal agents appear at her door.

“This week we plan to go away for a week until it stops, but next month we plan to move out of the apartment. I’ve lived in this apartment for five years and now I don’t think it’s safe,” she says.

According to her, fear has become permanent. Sometimes she wants to return to Nicaragua.

“Sometimes I want to say I give up.” Because this is not life. I'm driving. I do not have a driver's license. My daughter sometimes says: “Mom, I'm afraid you won't come home. I don’t know if I will have the opportunity to feel that I have a free life,” says Elena.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• Trump promised to launch ICE’s large-scale raids in the morning of June 23, aimed on families of illegal immigrants. It was noted that the “family operation” would affect up to 2 000 families who received deportation orders. Such families mostly live in US 10 cities, including Houston, Chicago, Miami, New York, Los Angeles and others.
• The authorities of major cities across the country opposed Trump's decision. People were promised legal protection and support.
• However, just before the start of raids for the organization of mass deportation the president changed his mind. Trump said he postpones raids in an attempt to negotiate immigration issues with Democrats.
• In early July, a scandal erupted in the US over poor conditions for keeping illegal immigrants at the border. A group of lawmakers from the Democratic Party visited migrant detention centers located near the border with Mexico, describing the “nightmarish” conditions in which thousands of people are held - according to congressmen, detained illegal immigrants from Central America often do not have access to water, food and other elementary needs.
• July 2 Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security posted photos from the migrant center in Texas.
• At the same time, Trump said that if illegal immigrants do not like conditions, then "let them not come.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Very soon: the start date of large-scale raids against illegal immigrants became known

What if an immigration agent knocks on your door

Russian-speaking immigrants are massively arrested in the USA: how to avoid a collision with the immigration police

In the US, they want to send illegal immigrants home right after they are caught at the border

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