Waiting for deportation: how is illegal immigrants living in the USA

Фото: Depositphotos

With the onset of the evening, the streets of the small town of Brownsville in Texas become empty, immigrants who are illegally staying in the United States, shuttering the windows and trying not to show up on the streets.

They try not to turn on the lights in the houses in order to create the impression that no one lives in them, writes with the BBC.

Maria, who moved to America illegally from Mexico 23 years ago, is one of approximately 11 million “undocumented immigrants”: many of them have lived in the United States for decades, many of whom had children in America.

The life of illegal immigrants in the valley of the Rio Grande River in the south of Texas changed dramatically after winning the election of President Donald Trump, who promised to tackle illegal immigration.

Maria's 16-year-old daughter Stephanie is a US citizen, she has cerebral palsy and her temperature often rises, and local doctors cannot even explain the reasons for these surges.

Doctors say she needs to see a specialist in Corpus Christi, a city located almost 250 km from where she lives. But to get there, you need to go through border control, and Maria can’t decide to do that.

“Of course, we are afraid that her condition will worsen. But what worries me even more is that I will be stopped at a checkpoint - who will take care of my children then?” admitted Maria.

Maria.
Screenshot from BBC video

She is scared to even accompany her 9-year-old son Joseph to the school bus in the morning.

Instead, many moms living on the same street as Maria watch their children through the curtain and send SMS to each other as a child passes by.

But on little Joseph, also an American citizen, this is not the best effect. Now he is completely afraid to go to school.

“I tell him that everything is fine, go on the bus, and he tells me: I’m afraid that I’ll come back and you won’t be at home,” says Maria.

She is preparing to sign papers to renounce her parental rights in favor of her sister, in case she is deported.

She does not want to leave her children Stephanie and Joseph alone or to risk giving them up for foster care.

Across America, hundreds of families of illegal migrants are considering the possibility of renewing their parental rights in case of possible expulsion from the country.

Fears of undocumented Latino immigrants in Texas are fueled by a new state law called SB4. In most US states, the police do not deal with immigration issues, this is a matter for the immigration authorities.

But SB4 law prohibits Texas state policemen from cooperating with immigration authorities.

It is expected that the adoption of this law will lead to the fact that the Texas police will begin to demand from suspects in any violation to confirm their immigration status.

The law is to come into force in September 2017, currently being challenged in court.

In fact, deporting illegal migrants from the United States is not Trump's invention. It was carried out over many years, and during his two terms as president, Barack Obama deported about three million migrants - more than any of his predecessors.

But soon after joining the White House, President Trump abolished the system of priorities that was used under Obama, in which the most deported were criminals. In addition, Trump signed a decree that provides for the same deportation procedure for all illegal immigrants, regardless of their criminal history.

During the first 100 days of Trump’s tenure, they expelled a thousand illegal immigrants from the United States, most of whom were criminals.

However, the number of deportees who did not have a criminal record more than doubled compared to the same period of the previous year and amounted to more than 10 thousand.

President Trump also canceled the guarantees that the Obama administration provided to illegal parents of American citizens if they did not violate US laws.

In San Diego, California, changes in immigration policy directly affected the Duarte family.

In the morning, four children of Duarte were just going to school when border guards suddenly arrested their parents, sending them to a local immigrant detention center.

Roosenda and Francisco Sr. illegally moved into the US 21 a year ago.
Screenshot from BBC video

“We sat and cried,” said 12-year-old Yareli Duarte.

On the first night, Yareli and her twin sister Araceli moved the beds to the same room with their two teenage brothers, so as not to be alone.

The older brother, 19-year-old Francisco, has become the head of the family - now he buys and prepares food and gets his younger sisters to school.

Border Patrol initially accused Duarte's parents, Rosenda and Francisco Sr., of having ties to an international human trafficking ring, but that charge was later dropped. The parents have never been brought to any responsibility and have no criminal history.

Rozenda Duarte was released on bail at the end of June, now her case is being reviewed. However, she herself and her husband, who is still in detention, are still under threat of deportation.

Lawyer Mark Lane, who advises immigrants in this area of ​​the city, says that he receives 10-15 calls related to such cases every day.

Read also on ForumDaily:

How illegal immigrants cross the US border

How the US deports illegal immigrants: a step-by-step procedure

How much does the deportation of one illegal man cost

Five applications for illegal immigrants

How an illegal immigrant can be legalized in the USA

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