Jorge Paz Reyes still remembers the feeling of those first few months in fifth grade after arriving in the US from Honduras with his mother and three sisters. The adjustment was difficult.
“I used to cry every morning. To the point that my mother got tired of me,” he says, reflecting on a conversation they had. “She sat me down and said, ‘Jorge, you can’t cry all the time. I can’t come pick you up from school every day, otherwise, I won’t be able to feed you.’”
Jorge, now an activist and community member with Mixteca – an organization that provides free health and education services to New York City’s immigrant community – grew up in New York City as an undocumented child. Today, he is a permanent resident applying for citizenship through a special juvenile program. But a few of his relatives remain undocumented and fear deportation under the incoming administration. “I have someone really close to me that is undocumented and I might lose her because of Donald Trump,” says Jorge, referencing President-elect Donald Trump’s promise of mass deportation.
Trump’s campaign pledge to remove up to 12 million undocumented migrants has prompted widespread fear and anxiety, particularly among the millions of people who have been in the US for years and have built careers, formed communities and families. After his election win in November last year, Trump discussed using the US military to enforce his deportation plan, even declaring a national emergency if necessary.
For activists like Jorge, who live and work closely with immigrant communities, this promise has become a tangible fear. Watch our latest Close Up episode “Trump’s Deportation Nation” to see how community members like Jorge are preparing for the possibility of mass deportation.
Director: Taimi Arvidson
Producer: Leo Hamelin
Director of Photography: Daniel Vergara
Additional Camera: Eric Arthur Fernandez, Nick Midwig
Writer: Tierney Bonini
Editor: Antonia Perello, Catherine Hallinan
Executive Producer: Tierney Bonini
Senior Editor: Donald Cameron
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