MIAMI – Parents gathered around Nora Sandigo’s long, rectangular dining table for a meal before proceeding to finalize paperwork that would designate the Nicaraguan immigrant as a legal guardian for their children, should they face deportation. They entrusted her with important documents such as birth certificates, medical and school records, immigration paperwork, and memorized her contact number.
“Have a conversation with your children about the possibilities, make sure they have my number handy, let them memorize it, let them save it,” Sandigo emphasized on Sunday.
For Sandigo’s gathering in southwest Miami and for the millions residing in the U.S. without legal status or with temporary authorization, the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term as president on Monday signals a looming fear that their stay in the country could come to an abrupt conclusion. During his campaign, Trump strongly advocated for mass deportations and has pledged to issue a series of executive orders on his first day in office to overhaul immigration policies.
“You don’t have to be afraid, you have to be prepared,” Sandigo told the group of about 20 people, including small children, who watched a demonstration of how to respond if immigration officers knock on their door. “Take precautions wherever you are.”
Sandigo, who came to the U.S. in 1988, has volunteered to be guardian for more than 2,000 children in 15 years, including at least 30 since December. A notary was on hand Sunday.
Erlinda, a single mother from El Salvador who arrived in 2013, signed legal rights to her U.S.-born children, ages 10 and 8. She said she applied for asylum but doesn’t know the status of her case.
“I am afraid for my children, that they will live the terror of not seeing their mother for a day, for a month, for a year,” said Erlinda, 45, who asked to be identified by first name only due to fears of being detained.
Plans for deportation arrests appeared to be in flux after news leaked of an operation in Chicago this week. Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan said on Fox News Sunday that Chicago was “not off the table, but we’re reconsidering when and how we do it.” He said the leak raised concerns about officer safety.
So-called sanctuary cities, which limit how local police cooperate with federal immigration authorities, have been a favorite Trump target, especially Chicago. Reports that his initial push would be in the nation’s third-largest city brought a new sense of urgency and fear.
Chicago became a sanctuary city in the 1980s and has beefed up policies since, including after Trump first took office in 2017. Last week, the City Council heartily rejected a longshot plan calling for exceptions allowing local police to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on deportation cases for people accused or convicted of crimes.
The Rev. Homero Sanchez said he didn’t realize the depth of fear in the Chicago immigrant community he serves until someone asked him to handle the sale of their family’s home and other finances if they are picked up after Trump takes office.
“They feel they have been targeted for who they are. They feel like they’re reviving this fear they had eight years ago,” said Sanchez, who serves the St. Rita of Cascia Parish on Chicago’s South Side. “They’re feeling like something is going to happen. This is not their city because of the threat.”
Sanchez, whose congregation has consisted mostly of people of Mexican descent since the 1980s, devoted Sunday Mass “to solidarity with our immigrant brothers and sisters.”
Cardinal Blase Cupich, who leads the Archdiocese of Chicago, said reports of the city being targeted by immigration officers were “not only profoundly disturbing but also wound us deeply.”
“We are proud of our legacy of immigration that continues in our day to renew the city we love,” Cupich said Sunday during a visit to Mexico City, according to a copy of his prepared remarks.
ICE arrests a fraction of targets in its street operations, though Trump is expected to cast a wider net than President Joe Biden, whose focus on picking up people away from the border was largely limited to those with serious criminal histories or who pose a risk to national security.
Biden’s administration also ended the practice of mass worksite arrests, which were common under Trump, including a 2019 operation targeting Mississippi chicken plants.
Trump aides have said immigration officers will arrest others, such as spouses or roommates, who are not targets but happen to be in the country illegally.
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Tareen reported from Chicago.
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