Immigration

Even before Trump took office, immigrants across the country lived in fear of deportation

WGCU | By Eileen Kelley

Published March 14, 2025 at 2:02 PM EDT

Dagon Flores and Marvin Agular were there to support those who will be affected by the SB 1718 law. A massive march and rally was held June 28, 2023, beginning at Centennial Park, marching through downtown Fort Myers, along Palm Beach Blvd to El Nuevo Maguey a restaurant on Palm Beach Blvd. From June 28th to July 5th the immigrant community of Florida have entered into a work stoppage to protest the now law SB 1718. The marched to demonstrate their value to the economy. — A massive march and rally was held June 28, 2023, beginning at Centennial Park, marching through downtown Fort Myers, along Palm Beach Blvd to El Nuevo Maguey a restaurant on Palm Beach Blvd. From June 28th to July 5th the immigrant community of Florida have entered into a work stoppage to protest the now law SB 1718. The marched to demonstrate their value to the economy.

Even before the Trump administration took office and immediately began implementing what the president dubbed as the greatest mass deportation in history, immigrant families in the U.S. were living in fear and avoiding day-to-day actives like driving and seeking health care, a new report shows.

The newly issued report uses data from the Urban Institute Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey, a nationally recognized survey of adults between the ages of 18 to 64. It offers a snapshot of the experiences facing immigrant families across the country who worrying about deportation or a change in immigration status. The survey also revealed similar concerns in families with no undocumented members.

The Urban Institute concludes that mass immigration enforcement is likely to have broader spillover and chilling effects regarding participation in every-day, public life. Children, the institute says, will stand to be particularly affected.

The key findings are based on adults who answered they worry “a lot” or “some” about various scenarios:

17 percent from all immigrant families with children and 32 percent in mixed status families with children worry about sending their kids to school or daycare.
20 percent in all immigrant families and 44 percent in mixed-status families worry about talking to the police.
19 percent of adults in all immigrant families and 44 percent in mixed-status families worry about driving a car.
32 percent of adults in all immigrant families and 58 percent in mixed-status families worry that they, a family member, or a close friend could be deported.
Nearly half of adults in immigrant families who worry about deportation had already taken one or more protective steps to prepare for a potential change in their or a family member’s immigration status with many seeking legal advice to prepare for changes.

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