The recent deportation arrests have impacted more than a million undocumented immigrants and their families in California, striking fear in people like Lilia, who has been trying to prepare her family for the worst scenario.
Lilia, who asked to just be identified by her first name out of safety, is a mother of seven and a grandmother of two, who has lived undocumented in the United States since 1988, along with her husband who is also undocumented.
With the ongoing deportation operations from ICE across the country, Lilia says she’s had to sit down with her family and prepare them for that possibility.
“Yeah, we have to talk about it because it is something that may happen or not. But we have to be prepared,” said Lilia.
The mother not only fears her being sent away after living in the U.S. for so many years but also leaving behind her children, some of which have special needs.
“As a mother, I’m terrified that I could be deported and my kids get into the system,” said Lilia. “My kids have a disorder, so it’s going to be harder for them to be here on their own, that’s my fear.”
The matriarch is like 45% of undocumented immigrants in the U.S., having lived in the States for more than 20 years, according to a Pew study. That same study also states California is home to nearly 20% of the entire undocumented population.
“We’ve been here for a long time, we pay our taxes, we are good people. We should be given an opportunity to stay and to fix our situation,” said Lilia.
During the Obama administration, Lilia tried to fix her immigration status but realized that to do that she would have to uproot her entire family back to Mexico to start the process.
Her children were under 18 at that time which strayed her away from the decision and continued to live unauthorized for another 12 years, in total 36 years.
Like a lot of undocumented families, Lilia is worried about a knock on the door and ICE taking them away. She knows the focus of the current ICE operations is immigrants with a criminal background, but said she is aware of many “collateral arrests” of undocumented immigrants without criminal backgrounds like her have happened.
ICE reported 48% of these collateral arrests on January 26th alone.
It’s a fear that has gripped not only Lilia’s family but also hundreds of thousands of SoCal families like Lilia’s who don’t have a criminal background and want a way forward.
“I want my kids to grow up without the stress or the fear of their parents being deported and their families separated the best place for the kids is with the parents, we deserve that they deserve that,” said Lilia.
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