Conspicuous enforcement has led to a sharp decline in school attendance in some Latino communities nationwide

By Ariana Figueroa, States Newsroom

WASHINGTON —  Latino leaders joined Congressional Hispanic Caucus Democrats Wednesday to criticize the Trump administration for conducting high-profile immigration enforcement raids that have spread fear in their communities, rather than tackling economic issues important to Latinos.

“The voters want their federal government to address these rising costs of living and the need for affordable housing and access to health (care),” Janet Murguía, president of the civil rights group UnidosUS said. “Instead … we’ve received from this administration, chaos, cruelty and an unconstitutional abuse of power.”

Frankie Miranda, president of the civic engagement group Hispanic Federation, noted the economy was a major factor for Latinos who voted for President Donald Trump, especially in swing states, according to polling done by his organization.

He said the White House has not addressed the two top-most important issues to Latinos, which are the economy and inflation.

“It is heartbreaking … to see the administration’s executive orders prioritize fear, confusion, chaos, instead of providing opportunities for economic opportunities and economic mobility for Americans,” Miranda said.

Dreamers, farmworkers

As the Trump administration aims to carry out its plans for mass deportations, it’s conducted widely publicized immigration enforcement actions in heavily Democratic cities like Chicago and New York.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has also led the president’s immigration crackdown, with a recently launched self-deportation campaign announced Tuesday. DHS will create a registry for immigrants without legal status to register and then self-deport. 

The chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York, said the Trump administration priorities are not economic issues. He said Democrats’ message on immigration needs to be narrowly focused.

“I will be remiss if I don’t speak about something that’s emblematic of our community, and that is immigration,” he said. “We must tighten our message to let America know that we are for Dreamers, farmworkers and keeping families together.”

Dreamers refers to the roughly 500,000 people who were brought into the country without legal authorization as children and are protected from deportation and allowed work visas through the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.

The legality of the program is currently being challenged in the courts and is likely to head to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Fear in Oklahoma

Salvador Ontiveros, the president of the Latino Community Development Agency in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, said Latino families are afraid to send their children to school. His organization is a nonprofit that provides social services to Latino communities across Oklahoma.

He said one family he works with has two daughters, ages 11 and 9.

“They live with a constant fear that one day they might come home and find their parents gone,” Ontiveros said. “No child should have to bear such a burden.”

He cited the recent efforts by Republicans in Oklahoma to require schools to check the citizenship status of children. The governor has pledged to block the measure. 

“Families are keeping their children home, choosing isolation over education simply to feel safe,” Ontiveros said. “The dangers of not educating our young people far outweigh any perceived benefit of these measures.”

Targeting Latinos in Chicago

Karina Ayala-Bermejo, president of the Instituto del Progreso Latino in Chicago, said the first week into the second Trump administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement targeted Latino communities in the Windy City such as Humboldt Park, which is a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood. 

She said that type of conspicuous enforcement led to a sharp decline in school attendance. Ayala-Bermejo noted that in Chicago, 1 in every 4 children comes from a mixed-status family, meaning family members have different citizenship status.

Ayala-Bermejo said that fear has extended to her parents, who are naturalized U.S. citizens. She said they dread encounters with ICE because of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. 

“We should never be in a country where the shade of our skin or our superpower to speak Spanish or other languages should be a trigger for ICE encounters,” she said. “Let me be clear, immigrants are not criminals.”

Ariana covers the nation’s capital for States Newsroom. Her areas of coverage include politics and policy, lobbying, elections and campaign finance. This story previously appeared in the Oregon Capital Chronicle.