by Julissa O.
The undocumented community is suffering in their jobs and family relations under the new administration’s immigration policies.
Over the past few weeks, the Trump administration has been rolling out new policies to deport immigrants. ICE has been cracking down on Immigrants with criminal records. They have been targeting major cities like New York, Chicago, and LA. With even talks about revoking Birth Right Citizenship, which is covered by the 14th amendment.
In a conversation with a Chicago-based immigrant, Ricarda Villalba says other immigrants in her line of work are scared of going to work in fear of running into ICE or getting deported. “Dependo de- the business- entonces los personas que trabajan para mi tiene mucho temor y en algunas ocasiones no quiener ir a trabajar por temor ah en el camino que los tomen y los lleven por alguna razon.” Which translates to “I depend on the business so people who work for me are scared and on some occasions they don’t want to go to work because of how scared they are to be stopped along the way and taken away”
The 51-year-old shares how she has been affected by this, stating “Estoy astrasado en trabajo, estoy trabajando mas horas, muy cansada.” This translates to “I’m behind on work, I’m working more hours, I’m so tired”
Ricarda, a mother of 3, also shares how these new policies have affected her family. She states how scared her youngest daughter is about her getting home safely “De pronto sus padres no llegan a casa,” translating to “Suddenly their parents don’t come home”. She shares her concerns about the mental health of young children. She states how these new policies have been “Poniendo en un riesgo de salud mental muy grabe,” translating to “This is putting a great risk on their mental health”
