- Title: Deportation fears haunt immigrant family after Trump victory
- Date: 10th November 2016
- Summary: MONTEBELLO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 9, 2016) (REUTERS) UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS OMAR CASTILLO AND ERICA GARCIA WALKING WITH DAUGHTERS ALMA AND YESENIA CASTILLO AND GARCIA READING WITH DAUGHTERS IN LIVING ROOM CASTILLO READING TO DAUGHTER ALMA (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANT OMAR CASTILLO ON WHY HE HAS A PENDING DEPORTATION ORDER, SAYING: "When my son was playing soccer at a park in Lynwood, he broke his arm. I went looking for the league manager so she could see what was happening and provide the insurance. Other parents wanted to beat the referee, so I got in the middle of the brawl to prevent them from beating him and I barely touched him, he then filed charges against me." GARCIA SHOWING HIS SON ULISES' MEDALS FOR SOCCER (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANT ERICA GARCIA SAYING: "Our kids are used to living here; their future is here, rather than moving to our home country. We would face poverty. Often, there are no jobs or even food." CASTILLO READING TO DAUGHTER ALMA (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANT OMAR CASTILLO SAYING: "If I get deported and sent to Mexico, I really worry, particularly for the little one, she is very close to me." WIDE OF CASTILLO AND LITTLE ALMA IN LIVING ROOM (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANT ERICA GARCIA SAYING: "I worry about what will happen if my husband is deported. I don't have a job, my kids, what am I going to do? Leave the country with them, what else?" DOWNEY, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 9, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY HENRY POSADA WITH OFFICE STAFF (SOUNDBITE) (English) IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY HENRY POSADA SAYING: "We don't have a crystal ball, so we don't know the exact future, however, I think that it is not easy to change the immigration laws. It takes time, even though right now the government will be all Republican, I think even within the Republican Party there might be disagreements on how to best handle the immigration reform. I do think that in the meantime, people, the worst thing people can do right now in my opinion is to panic and to give up hope." POSADA WORKING ON COMPUTER (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY HENRY POSADA SAYING: "We might see more enforcement with those with criminal backgrounds, but what I honestly believe is that people should not panic. Panic gets you nowhere. People should remain hopeful. I believe there will be change and negotiations. We have to continue fighting and hope that something positive will come out of this." MONTEBELLO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 9, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CASTILLO AND GARCIA WITH DAUGHTERS ALMA AND YESENIA READING IN LIVING ROOM
- Embargoed: 25th November 2016 03:13
- Keywords: immigrant family immigration reform Donald Trump deportation Latino USA election
- Location: MONTEBELLO AND DOWNEY, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- City: MONTEBELLO AND DOWNEY, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA00157V0NYF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The American Dream of Omar Castillo and Erica Garcia was shuttered in the summer of 2013 when Castillo was involved in a brawl in the soccer field where his son Ulises played. Castillo is facing deportation and Garcia, along with two of their three children, are undocumented immigrants.
On Wednesday (November 9), the morning after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States on a campaign to deport illegal immigrants, both were concerned.
Castillo, 35 and Garcia, 40, are originally from Cuactla, Morelos, Mexico. They entered the United States with their son Ulises, 17, and daughter Yesenia, 10, in 2006 without immigration papers. Their three year-old daughter Alma was born in the United States and is a citizen.
"Our kids are used to living here; their future is here, rather than moving to our home country. We would face poverty. Often, there are no jobs or even food," said Garcia.
Facing deportation for the last three years, Castillo reports to immigration once a month and is monitored by phone every Friday when he needs to be home between 8:00pm-10:00pm to speak to a probation officer.
"If I get deported and sent to Mexico, I really worry, particularly for the little one, she is very close to me," he said.
"I worry about what will happen if my husband is deported. I don't have a job, my kids, what am I going to do? Leave the country with them, what else?" said Garcia.
Advocates and immigration experts, though, were working to calm people concerned by Trump's angry anti-immigrant rhetoric.
While Trump could undo some of Democratic President Barack Obama's legacy on immigration through executive orders, many of Republican's promises would require the cooperation of Congress and likely face court challenges.
"We don't have a crystal ball, so we don't know the exact future, however, I think that it is not easy to change the immigration laws," said immigration attorney Henry Posada.
"It takes time, even though right now the government will be all Republican, I think even within the Republican Party there might be disagreements on how to best handle the immigration reform. I do think that in the meantime, people, the worst thing people can do right now in my opinion is to panic and to give up hope," he said.
Experts have also cautioned that finding and deporting the country's 11 million illegal immigrants would carry enormous logistic and financial costs. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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