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Undocumented migrants await Trump's next move
Al Jazeera ^ | March 25, 2017 | James Reinl

Posted on 03/25/2017 1:38:59 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Cafes, churches and playing fields are quieter than usual, as undocumented immigrants lay low amid the crackdown

United States, New York - With such slogans as "Resiste" and "No Deportaciones" emblazoned on the walls, there is little doubt that La Morada, a restaurant in a gritty district of New York, is more than your average taco-serving Mexican diner.

Sure, their Oaxaca-style tortilla, mole sauce and steaming hot chocolate delight locals. But the Saavedra family that owns and runs the eatery sees itself as a Bronx bastion against a revived immigration crackdown under United States President Donald Trump.

"There's obviously a very palpable fear in our community and we want to be ready for the worst-case scenario," Marco Saavedra, 27, a college graduate who serves dishes while fighting his asylum claim to remain in the US, told Al Jazeera.

"We're still waiting to see how Trump does it, through courts or executive action. But we've got to be ready."

Business has slowed since Trump's inauguration in January as Latinos watch their pennies in uncertain times, said his sister, Yajaira Saavedra, 28. The bistro's weekly civic meetings and "know your rights" workshops are, however, busier than before.

All gone silent

La Morada - which means both "purple" and "abode" - is not alone. Many taquerias, tamale bars and other Latino comfort food joints across the US have gone quiet. So have football pitches and churches where Sunday services ring out in Spanish.

The reason is simple. Many undocumented immigrants are less eager to risk driving a car and being stopped by police for a broken taillight, only for such routine violations to escalate into deportation proceedings.

"People are being cautious and more conservative due to the uncertainty of the Trump era," said Yajaira, who benefits from former-President Barack Obama's policy to defer action against some undocumented child migrants.

Fifty days into office, Trump, a Republican, is coming good on campaign pledges to deport undocumented immigrants in the US and build a wall along its 3,200km southern border.

Department of Homeland Security memos call for the hiring of 10,000 more Immigration and Customs (ICE) agents and 5,000 more Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, and tougher rules on whom will be targeted.

They would include recent entrants, failed asylum seekers, convicts and those charged with crimes. Trump has also moved to strip federal funding from the so-called sanctuary cities and states that limit cooperation with deportation teams.

In December, Pew Research Center found that, when asked, 58 percent of Americans highlighted the importance of deporting undocumented immigrants, while 62 percent stressed that some should be allowed to legalise their status in the US.

Among immigration experts, Trump has many critics. Steven Choi, director of New York Immigration Coalition, a civic group, blasted a "draconian enforcement agenda that wrongfully characterises immigrants as criminals and terrorises our communities".

Others highlight the cost of Trump's plans. The 15,000 new immigration officers must all be paid; a wall stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico could cost $40bn, according to the MIT Technology Review.

'Words matter'

The Center for American Progress found that ejecting all undocumented immigrants would hurt the US economy by $4.7 trillion over a decade. Deportations may even be pointless, says Pew, as more Mexicans leave the US than arrive nowadays.

In part, Trump is living up to pledges that won him last year's election, particularly among white voters in parts of Pennsylvania, Michigan and other rust belt states who have watched factories shutter and an epidemic of opioid abuse ravage once-prosperous towns.

"The liberal elite calls for immigration policies, but they don't see their impact on many of their fellow Americans," Dave Ray, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a right-wing lobby group, told Al Jazeera.

"Their kids don't go to the same schools and they don't live in those neighbourhoods that have to handle an influx of illegal immigrants. The liberal elite is so removed from that reality, it's like two different worlds."

For Ray, Trump's tough talk is already working. The number of illegal immigrants crossing from Mexico to the US fell by 40 percent between January and February, according to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.

"Obama talked about an amnesty and minimal immigration enforcement and the borders were swarmed," said Ray. "Trump talks tough on border control, removing criminal aliens and ending sanctuary cities and border apprehensions drop like a hot potato. Words matter."

Enforcing the law

Aside from securing the border, FAIR says US labour laws should be enforced. Once undocumented migrants are sacked by farm owners, eateries and other bosses in the US, they will head back to their motherlands to earn a crust.

Against this backdrop, many undocumented immigrants are readying for a knock on the door by deportation squads. Mexico's 50 consulates in the US have been deluged with requests for birth certificates, passports and other forms of identification.

Some seek to regularise their status in the US, some undocumented parents want Mexican passports for US-born children in case they get caught in an ICE roundup and their whole family has to head south of the border with them.

Others are getting co-signers authorised on bank accounts and applying for co-guardianship of US-born children so that, if a family carer or breadwinner were deported, it would be easier for their partner to carry on, said Marco Saavedra.

The Cabrini Immigrant Services centre in downtown Manhattan has been overwhelmed. Legal aid slots on Mondays can accommodate 15 clients, but queues of 80 or more applicants mean scores are turned away, said manager Javier Ramirez-Baron.

"People feel attacked and afraid, so they want to see what they can do," he said. "We're helping them with their legal cases, their documents and preparing plans in case they're stopped by police, so they're ready for any scenario."

Meet the Saavedra family

Back in the South Bronx, the Saavedra family gets ready for the evening rush of orders of stuffed Poblano peppers and other deep-fried treats. Chefs, some of them undocumented, chop cactus salads and squeeze limes for fresh guacamole.

They typify the struggles of many Latinos in the US. The parents crossed the border without papers seeking work in the 1980s. Marco and Yajaira joined them years later, but only Yajaira benefited from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) scheme.

Their youngest daughter was born in the US and has citizenship.

Because of this, deportation proceedings against one family member would force difficult decisions upon the rest. This, of course, has been hanging over their heads for years, but the West Wing's latest occupants give fresh cause for concern.

As far back as 1992, the Saavedras purchased a house outside Mexico City as a potential retirement home. An uncle takes care of the place, but, in recent months, they have bought more furniture to make it liveable.

"I don't want to entertain it, but we think we're resilient enough that if we must start another life in Mexico, we can," said Marco, while musing about what jobs a US education could get him down south. "We always have to have a backup plan."


TOPICS: Government; Politics; Society
KEYWORDS: aliens; deport; deportation; illegalaliens; illegals; immigration; mexico; newyork; trump
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If the last four presidents had enforced the laws we wouldn't be in this situation.
1 posted on 03/25/2017 1:38:59 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

True, but they were all ‘bought and paid for’...


2 posted on 03/25/2017 1:39:49 PM PDT by HarleyLady27 ('THE FORCE AWAKENS!!!' Trump/Pence: MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The term is Illegal Aliens, Aljezeera dipwad......


3 posted on 03/25/2017 1:43:26 PM PDT by Vaquero ( Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Twitter claiming fbi has flipped Flynn.

That will be the story this week
stay tuned


4 posted on 03/25/2017 1:57:44 PM PDT by RummyChick
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Its Illegal Aliens.


5 posted on 03/25/2017 1:59:04 PM PDT by TexasCruzin (Trump is the man. #TrumpPence16)
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To: RummyChick
"FBI has flipped Flynn"....

In what way....can you amplify a tad?

Leni

6 posted on 03/25/2017 2:00:24 PM PDT by MinuteGal (GO TRUMP !!! GO PENCE !!! All 193 Dems sank the HealthCare bill not GOP. Put blame where it belongs!)
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To: Vaquero

Aljezeera — just like CNN, MSNBC, the Washington POSt and NYT — has come up with “creative language” so as not to label illegal aliens as “illegal aliens”


7 posted on 03/25/2017 2:02:47 PM PDT by glennaro
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
It is this simple: If you are in this country illegally, you have to go back. That's it.

Any arguments to the contrary ignore the harsh realities.

8 posted on 03/25/2017 2:05:43 PM PDT by Volunteer (Though I know that the hypnotized never lie, do ya? - The Who)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Trump needs to end the anchor baby law NOW before the wall goes up. That would stop a lot of the illegal border crossing.


9 posted on 03/25/2017 2:05:57 PM PDT by fivecatsandadog (WE WON. GET OVER IT.)
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To: RummyChick

If you believe that type of stuff. Def looks pretty fake to me


10 posted on 03/25/2017 2:12:23 PM PDT by BillyCuccio (MAGA)
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To: MinuteGal

I did a search on Twitter. There isn’t much, but John Schindler @20committee is posting this article http://americablog.com/2017/03/national-enquirer-brands-flynn-russian-spy-trump-just-threw-flynn-bus.html Lots of inuendo, but it isn’t even trending or anything.


11 posted on 03/25/2017 2:16:07 PM PDT by beaglebabe
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

-—The bistro’s weekly civic meetings and “know your rights” workshops are, however, busier than before.-—

What do they mean “rights” - what rights do illegals have?


12 posted on 03/25/2017 2:18:16 PM PDT by Paulie (America without Christ is like a Chemistry book without the periodic table.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Any place or group opening welcoming and protecting illegal aliens should be top spots for first enforcement. Same with illegal aliens to opt to speak out in public, let their next night be spent in a holding cell, and the next week back in their homeland. (I am still waiting to see Jose Vargas get arrested and sent home to the Philippines where he belongs.)


13 posted on 03/25/2017 2:20:32 PM PDT by Reno89519 (Drain the Swamp is not party specific. Lyn' Ted is still a liar, Good riddance to him.)
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To: MinuteGal

Check twitter. Sources say flynn may have flipped

Means someone in the fbi may pushing this story.

That sob McCabe faction...and for all those that start the fake news crap..this is news..someone is pushing the story..it may or may not be true that flynn flipped..but this IS a story

Or it could be mccain pushing it


14 posted on 03/25/2017 2:22:56 PM PDT by RummyChick
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To: RummyChick
"Flipped"...again, flipped which way...do you have a hint? I don't do Twitter.

Leni

15 posted on 03/25/2017 2:25:32 PM PDT by MinuteGal (GO TRUMP !!! GO PENCE !!! All 193 Dems sank the HealthCare bill not GOP. Put blame where it belongs!)
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To: beaglebabe

Not it

Cnn and harvard professor....claim sources say


16 posted on 03/25/2017 2:26:01 PM PDT by RummyChick
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To: MinuteGal

Cant. On phone. Check cnn website. They are pushing story so far


17 posted on 03/25/2017 2:26:54 PM PDT by RummyChick
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To: RummyChick

I saw that too, but that’s very vague. I guess we’ll see. CNN is worse than any tabloid these days.


18 posted on 03/25/2017 2:29:01 PM PDT by beaglebabe
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To: RummyChick
Well, I guess the "flip" is that Flynn flipped to being a Russian spy.

Unbelievable!

Leni

19 posted on 03/25/2017 2:31:18 PM PDT by MinuteGal (GO TRUMP !!! GO PENCE !!! All 193 Dems sank the HealthCare bill not GOP. Put blame where it belongs!)
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To: beaglebabe

Its couched very carefully

Sources say

MAY

So they are treading lightly..if they say he did..then would come from FBI..so to cover could hAve used MAY

Its starting to get picked up by other reporters on twitter


20 posted on 03/25/2017 2:32:04 PM PDT by RummyChick
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