Some of the immigrant farmworkers in the United States are gearing up for deportation by United States President-elect Donald Trump deportations, as various of his policies affect the families and lives of his working immigrant farmworker. Several farmworkers are appointing custodians for their kids in case they are arrested, social and legal assistance organizations helping such groups have noted.
As Trump prepares to be sworn in as the 45th President on January 20, the number of people seeking legal help rises as the President-elect vowed to deport millions of Mexicans living in the US. The agricultural sector that uses immigrant farmworkers is particularly alarmed, given the belief that it will lead to severe economic repercussions. Currently, USDA estimates that forty percent of the hired farmworkers in the US are unauthorized immigrants, and farm trade groups have said the deportation of these workers is capable of crippling food production in the country.
Sarait Martinez, the executive director of the Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño (CBDIO), a non-profit organization that developed to support indigenous Mexican farmworkers, reports that apprehension about deportation had set in before Trump actually came to power. There is always tension created by different means within the community. Martinez said, “The administration is not yet sworn in, but people are already afraid”.
Legal assistance groups such as CBDIO stated that there has been an increase in the number of immigrants within the farm industry people coming out to seek information on any changes, their rights, or information on how to provide for their families in case they are arrested. In some areas, people are five to ten times more interested in procedures than before; community workers are even having workshops on what to do once they meet immigration officers and how to look after their children in case the parents are to be deported. Such fears suggest the deep anxiety that many immigrant farm workers feel as a new administration is being inaugurated.
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