Illegal Immigrants Express Mixed Feelings Over Trump’s Victory and Potential Deportations
On the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump promised to deport illegal immigrants, particularly those with criminal histories. In interviews with the Spanish edition of The Epoch Times, some illegal immigrants who have been in the United States for decades expressed concern, while others said that the illegal immigration crisis has caused problems for their communities.
Irma, 44, a native of Mexico who has lived in the state of Texas for 33 years, described her feelings after she found out that the former president had defeated Vice President Kamala Harris.
"I wanted Kamala to win," she said. "From six to seven [on the evening of Nov. 5] it was nerve-wracking because Trump was winning and honestly I really didn't want him to win. So, it was very stressful."
Irma said she feared a Trump victory because of his mass deportation promises.
"I'm a mother, I have two children. ... Yes, it does scare me because I say if they deport me, what am I going to do? What worries me are my children," she said.
Irma said that she could no longer cope with the stress as she followed the election night results, so she turned off the television and went to rest. Later, through a Facebook group, the Mexican woman received news that the Republican candidate had won.
"Yes, it made me very sad," Irma said. "But we are already in God's hands. And things happen for a reason. I'm hopeful that maybe something good will come out of all this."
Irma said that she's aware of the current immigration crisis in the country and said that her community has been impacted.
"It all started when they began to make the caravans from El Salvador, or for example now the biggest problem is the people from Venezuela. That's why all this conflict started," she said.
Irma said the federal government caused the situation and noted that illegal immigrants who arrived in recent years have enjoyed privileges that people who have served in the U.S. Army, or Americans in need, do not have.
She has been living illegally in the United States and said she was saddened by Trump's victory.
"I was waiting for this election with great expectation. We had faith that the Democratic Party would win. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way," Miram said. "When we started to see that it was red, red, red, red, red [on the electoral map], it was a big disappointment. Disappointed to see that our party was falling far behind."
Miram recalled that Trump, in his first term, had policies aimed at reducing illegal immigration. She said that despite having feelings of uncertainty and fear, she does not believe that the mass deportations Trump promised will take place.
"A great uncertainty. Fear, [although] I don't think he is going to do the mass deportations, it is going to make our situation here much more difficult. Yes, fear. Fear that you go out tomorrow to work honestly, and there is a [immigration] checkpoint in one of the freeways we drive and that without doing anything more than going to earn a living they are going to deport you," she said.
Miram said she recognizes that there is currently an immigration crisis, unlike anything she has seen in the 25 years she has lived in the country. She said she feels helpless in the face of the benefits that have been acquired by those who have recently arrived, while people like her, who have been in the country for years, are not being supported in their immigration process.
"There is opportunity for everyone. I am not saying that they don't have opportunities, but the opportunities they have are different from here to the moon. We have nothing and they already have almost everything," she said.
Miram said the United States is a country that "gives a lot of opportunities."
"And to see that someone overnight can come and take away everything you have honestly worked hard for is something very difficult, very difficult to accept," she said.
"If I could vote, my vote would be for Donald Trump. Because even though he says he is going to deport people, as a Christian, I would prefer him," she said. "I'm not afraid that he might deport them, but my belief is that he's going to be very supportive. I know a lot about the Christian religion. Most of all he is a person who believes in God. And I feel that there is going to be a kind of solution because he is always by God's hand."
Edward Ruiz, originally from Venezuela and living in Philadelphia for three months, expressed hope that Trump's triumph will improve the U.S. economy.
"According to what I have heard from people who have been here for a while, they say that when Donald Trump was in charge, economically the United States was better off than it is today," Ruiz said. "So, if the purpose of us as migrants is to come to work and progress and this government is going to give us those opportunities, it seems fine to me."
The Venezuelan, who has authorization to work in the country, said he would have voted for Harris if he could vote.
"Thinking about all the relatives who want to come, maybe with Donald Trump's government now it will be more difficult, the process for them to come. ... I would have voted for Kamala Harris," Ruiz said. "It's going to be a lot harder for them to come in."
In Nevada, Trump and Harris split the Latino vote, with both of them winning 47 percent.
According to NEP totals, Trump won 54 percent of the Latino male vote. That was an 18 percentage point increase from 2020.
Austin Alonzo and Terri Wu contributed to this report.
