Nearly eight months into President Trump’s second term, increased immigration enforcement has caused widespread fear among immigrant communities throughout the country, including the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys.
That fear has disrupted businesses, school attendance, and upended life as people stay home to avoid any possible run-in with immigration agents.
Seven months ago, Guadalupe, a 31-year-old mother living in Parachute, gave birth to her first child. (She requested Aspen Public Radio not use her full name due to her husband’s immigration status.)
But amid all the challenges of new motherhood, Guadalupe had another concern: she’s a U.S. citizen, but her husband is not. What would she do if he was deported? How would she cope as a single mother?
“We’re always wondering what's going to happen if something happens to him,” she said.
According to the latest data, there are about 4.6 million children under 18 who were born in the U.S. and live with an unauthorized immigrant parent.
For Guadalupe and other mothers in her position, the trauma of family separation is only one concern. Historically, the majority of deportees are men, and women often bear the financial and emotional burden of keeping their families afloat.
Guadalupe’s salary alone would not cover their mortgage and monthly bills, so she and her baby would have to move in with her parents.
One study of immigration enforcement in six U.S. locations between 2006 and 2009 found that families lost 40%-60% of their income within six months of a parent’s immigration-related arrest, detention or deportation.
Federal immigration officials have not conducted large-scale workplace immigration raids or “sweeps” between Aspen and Parachute this year. However, Latino advocacy nonprofit Voces Unidas published an alert last week about an uptick in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity on the Western Slope.
When President Trump hatched his mass deportation plan, he pledged to target immigrants who have committed crimes and pose public safety threats.
But according to the latest data from the Transactional Records Clearinghouse, over 70% of people held in ICE detention have no criminal conviction. Many of those convictions are only minor offenses, such as traffic violations. (Under U.S. law, unauthorized presence in the United States is a civil violation, not a crime.)
Recently, Guadalupe and her husband tried to cancel a family trip to Denver — their first with the baby — but the hotel didn’t give them a refund, so reluctantly, they decided to go.
Even at home, Guadalupe feels anxious about going out.
When she hears knocking on her door, her stomach often clenches.
“It’s scary to know that you can be, you know, taken away and your children,” she said.
Months ago, when Guadalupe and her husband first started talking about their plans if he was deported, she entertained the idea of going back to Mexico. That way, at least, they could be together as a family.
She ultimately decided she would remain in the U.S. for the sake of her child. His options for a better life were undeniably better in the U.S.
