Organizations and attorneys in the St. Louis area are supporting immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugee families to renew all immigration documents as soon as possible to prevent a mass deportation.
This guidance comes after President-elect Donald Trump stated last week that he would begin deporting undocumented immigrants on the first day of his presidency. His plan for the “largest deportation” in American history might touch tens of thousands of immigrants in the St. Louis area.
It is unclear how mass deportations would occur, but immigration enforcement will undoubtedly rise, said Jessica Mayo, an attorney and co-director of the MICA Project.
“The last time under Trump, he said everyone’s a priority, so it doesn’t matter if you have U.S. citizenship, children or spouse, if you come into contact with law enforcement or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they are going to detain you and start you through the immigration court process,” she said. “We certainly expect that to happen [again].”
The migrant and immigrant group has handled thousands of cases involving asylum seekers, recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, humanitarian parolees, and clients seeking Temporary Protected Status. Attorneys predict the program’s dismantling within the next few months, which particularly worries MICA Project officials about the future of DACA recipients living in the neighborhood.
The MICA Project now works with approximately 80 DACA beneficiaries. Roberto Munive, a spokesman for the MICA Project, reports that many DACA beneficiaries are worried about the validity of their work permits and driver’s licenses. They have contacted Munive with concerns about what they would do if their permits were not renewed, and many are concerned about what would happen if they were stopped by police, did not have a valid identity, or could not present a work authorization.
“These are all people who have been living here in the United States basically their whole lives, and having to hear that there’s a possibility that the program might get terminated, it puts a lot of fear into them,” said Munive. “Since they have lived here their entire lives, they’ve been speaking English, going back to another country and not being able to speak that language is also another concern.”
As Trump staffs his team, attorneys warn immigrants to begin planning to extend their visas and file any immigration petitions in case Trump’s administration carries out its objectives soon after taking office.
“The main thing we’re recommending to people right now regarding that possibility is that if they do have work authorization or a green card that they’re carrying that with them and keeping it safe – don’t leave it in your car, or maybe it could get stolen. Make sure you have copies for backup, if you don’t have that but you have another application pending, keep proof of that pending application.
“If you do have U.S. citizen children or spouses, keep documentation of that relationship with you,” Mayo said.
Although Missouri does not have a border with the United States, Javad Khazaeli, an attorney at Khazaeli-Wyrsch Law, advises those with Temporary Protected Status to keep their documents up to date because the government may easily discover them.
“If Trump deletes the Temporary Protected Status program, it’s pretty easy to go pick up those people,” he said. “I’m fairly confident he’s going to throw the law away and come up with something new, or have the Republicans pass some form of super-expedited system, which has very few protections to protect people and the bigger issue is even if it takes forever to get rid of people, he could just detain them.”
Because immigration programs are highly unclear, Khazaeli advises people to prepare for the worst.
He believes that the new government and Republican-controlled Congress will begin mass deportations without due process.
“St. Louis hasn’t had a large number of the temporary protected status people, but my guess is they’re going to start aiming at cities like Chicago and New York, and we have a large amount of county facilities that can hold people,” Khazaeli said. “I could absolutely see them grabbing people from other states and storing them here in Missouri.”
Attorneys and immigration agencies also advise clients to seek legal counsel to understand their rights and to use English language translation services in the region for any applications.
Julie Fox, executive director of the Immigrant Home English Learning Program, stated that having someone in the household or another US citizen with power of attorney might be a lifesaver for those with mixed-status families.
“Should something happen to the parents of the kids who are legal United States citizens … who’s going to take care of them?” she said.