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President Trump's plans for a mass deportation of migrants without legal status has kicked legal centers that provide resources for immigrants into high gear. NPR's Arezou Rezvani reports.
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UNIDENTIFIED TOFEC VOLUNTEER: (Speaking Spanish).
AREZOU REZVANI, BYLINE: There's often a long line outside the nonprofit TODEC Legal Center these days here in the small Southern California town of Perris.
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UNIDENTIFIED TOFEC VOLUNTEER: Are you born here?
REZVANI: More than a couple dozen men, women, children and seniors - many of them without legal status - sign in for a know-your-rights session.
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UNIDENTIFIED TOFEC VOLUNTEER: (Speaking Spanish).
REZVANI: Inside, a legal center volunteer walks them through what to do if federal ice agents come for them anywhere, like at work...
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UNIDENTIFIED TOFEC VOLUNTEER: (Speaking Spanish).
REZVANI: ...Or the streets...
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UNIDENTIFIED TOFEC VOLUNTEER: (Speaking Spanish).
REZVANI: ...Or at their homes.
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UNIDENTIFIED TOFEC VOLUNTEER: (Speaking Spanish).
REZVANI: Together, they practice what to say if agents try entering without a court-ordered warrant.
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UNIDENTIFIED TOFEC VOLUNTEER: You may not enter. Please leave.
REZVANI: You may not enter. Please leave.
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UNIDENTIFIED TOFEC VOLUNTEER: You may not enter. Please leave.
REZVANI: Many here are watching the Trump administration's immigration crackdown that White House officials claim targets mainly people in the country illegally with criminal records, wondering if they may get swept up in it all. Now, these fears aren't totally new. There were what many called mass deportations under former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, who was dubbed the deporter-in-chief by activists for deporting more people than any other president. What is new, says Luz Gallegos, executive director of TODEC Legal Center, is the rhetoric and the publicity around the deportations this time.
LUZ GALLEGOS: This reality now is very different because it comes with a lot of messaging that comes with a lot of hate and discrimination. It's a different narrative that our community wasn't used to before Trump came along.
REZVANI: Trump has warned the U.S. is under invasion. He suggested that migrants spread disease and, quote, "infect our country." Gallegos worries the rhetoric could incite some people with hostile views toward migrants. Out of fear, TODEC isn't publicizing all of its events, and they're holding more sessions virtually. Despite the uncertainty, Gallegos hopes Americans will see how critical immigrants without status are to the economy.
GALLEGOS: We're already hearing it from companies. They don't have workers. You know, for us, it's about the human being and the human rights, but for others, it's their bottom line, their economy.
REZVANI: Those without status have already retreated from their communities. Gallegos now knows of many kids who are staying home from school, parents too scared to go to work, and families waiting anxiously to see just how extensive Trump's deportations will be.
Arezou Rezvani, NPR News, Perris, California. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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