Jan. 20 was the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday, but another event captured more headlines than the celebration of the civil rights leader’s life and legacy: Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States.
According to multiple national news outlets, Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders immediately after his inauguration, affecting a wide swath of policy issues, including those designed to implement, as he’s put it, “the most aggressive, sweeping effort to restore our borders the world has ever seen” including “the largest deportation operation in American history.”
The executive orders he signed include declaring a national emergency on the southern border (and in a separate order declared the current situation at the southern border qualifies as an invasion); ordered a halt to refugee admissions in the United States for “at least four months”; ordered the restoration of the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which requires migrants to await asylum hearings in Mexico; and ended birthright citizenship, meaning the U.S. government will no longer recognize the citizenship of children born in the United States to immigrants who lack legal status, including children born to people on temporary work, student and tourist visas.
Trumps orders would curb both illegal and legal immigration, though Trump and his incoming “border czar” Tom Homan have indicated the first priority will be on removing persons who present threats to public safety or national security.
It’s still unclear how these orders will play out in real life with the expected legal and logistical implementation challenges, and a big price tag – the American Immigration Council, a nonprofit dedicated to immigration reform in the U.S., estimates the cost of deporting one million persons per year would average out to around $88 billion annually.
But local advocates who work with migrant populations are preparing now to protect the people they serve who could potentially be affected by Trump’s executive orders.
“We are working to protect our immigrant communities … We are preparing for the worst-case scenario,” said Annette Leyva, the Colorado Springs-based south regional coordinator for CIRC (Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition) in a conversation with the Pikes Peak Bulletin. The coalition is composed of immigrant, faith, labor, youth, community, business and ally organizations from across the state.
“We know mass deportations would be devastating for our entire state,” Leyva said. “It would tear families apart. You’d have that emotional trauma… and it would devastate certain industries.”
In Colorado Springs, Leyva said, those industries include construction, agriculture and hospitality.
According to the American Immigration Council, about 9.5% of the state’s residents are foreign-born, a bit below the national level of 13.8%. But, Leyva said, it’s hard to get good numbers on documentation status, and it is unclear exactly how many undocumented immigrants live in the Colorado Springs area. She pointed to national data from the American Immigration Council indicating 8.5 million people live in mixed-status households – homes in which at least one member has legal status, and one does not. The American Immigration Council puts the total number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. at around 13 million.
Mass deportations would be devastating for our entire state.
-Annette Leyva, CIRC south regional coordinator
“We sometimes lack the recognition that this is such a [bigger number] than what we realize,” Leyva said.
CIRC has worked to pass pro-immigrant legislation in Colorado that prevents arrest solely based on immigration status and limits the ways local law enforcement can coordinate with ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
However, El Paso County has petitioned the state to increase law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with ICE. In a statement to the Bulletin prior to Trump’s inauguration, the El Paso Board of County Commissioners said, “The Board of County Commissioners has consistently expressed its concern with the [Biden] administration’s failed immigration policies, including publicly stating that we are not a sanctuary county … We look forward to working with President-elect Trump to return to enforcing federal immigration laws and putting Americans first.”
In addition to legislative advocacy, CIRC conducts education and outreach on immigration issues – right now they are focusing on Know Your Rights Trainings which teach participants how to assert their constitutional rights when interacting with ICE or police in the state of Colorado. They have created a Family Preparedness Packet, a resource for families to prepare for potential deportations, and have re-launched the Colorado Rapid Response Network hotline to support families facing ICE activity. Families and allies can access this resource by calling 1-844-864-8341. This initiative recruits and trains volunteers, legal observers, and dispatchers to ensure that communities have rapid support in the event of deportation actions.
For more information on CIRC’s work, to request a Know Your Rights Training, or to get involved as a volunteer, go to ColoradoImmigrant.org.
Marcela’s story
[Marcela, last name withheld, shared her family’s experience coming to the U.S. without authorization. Her words have been translated from Spanish by Rossana Longo-Better. — ed.]
“My husband lost his job in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, due to the closure of his company,” she said. “From that moment, we struggled to find work for my husband. My salary alone was not enough to support our family. So, on March 8, 2003, my husband was invited to come work here in Colorado Springs, Colorado. With a heavy heart, he decided to emigrate, leaving our four children and me behind in Ciudad Juárez while he settled in. After five months, he returned to bring us so we could all be together again.
Sometimes, we think that everything in the United States is easy, that we will lack nothing, and that we will live happily ever after. Nobody ever told us that there would also be struggles and hardships here to support and sustain a family. The little money earned often goes toward rent, bills, insurance, etc., and whatever is left over is for food and clothes. Our children grew up with needs, suffering, and challenges such as racism and bullying. Thankfully, we learned how to move forward. Over time, I learned about CIRC and got involved in organizations to help the community. I learn from others and work to teach and share the information and resources I’ve discovered within our community.”
Marcela said her son is currently being held in the ICE detention facility in Aurora, where he faces “inhumane” conditions including lack of medical care and insufficient food. [The Bulletin has so far been unable to independently confirm this. –ed]
“We are fighting his case,” she said. “Colorado Springs is his home … He has been here since he was three years old and has lived here ever since.
“We need to support one another now. My family and I need your support, and for those of you in the same situation, you have our support as well,” she continued. “My son has two daughters, one 10 years old and the other four, and both need him at home. As a mother, I want Raúl in our home.”
“The suffering is immense, immense, immense,” she said.
