FRESNO, Calif. – At a recent rally in front of the federal courthouse in downtown Fresno, dozens were gathered in support of immigrants in the Central Valley.
Following the re-election of Donald Trump, pro-immigrant advocates are worried the president-elect will go through on promises to enact mass deportations. Advocacy groups are preparing for lengthy legal battles, solutions, and other ways to educate communities to ensure their safety.
At the rally, Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco made a vow to the undocumented population in her city.
“I stand before you with a clear and unwavering message. I am fully committed to working with and protecting our undocumented families,” Pacheco said.
As mayor, Pacheco says she’s been working with police to keep residents safe and collaborating with state and federal legislators to boost immigration policy.
But Pacheco is also taking a different approach. For nearly a year, she says she and members of the advocacy organization FUERZA have been in talks with developers just across the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana. Pacheco hopes to build housing there for people from Kerman who could be deported.
“We know that some of these apartments are going to be used by families,” Pacheco said in a phone call with KVPR.
While Pacheco didn’t provide many details, she says she hopes the dozens of units will be ready next year.
Pacheco isn’t the only one anticipating change.
Camille Cook is an immigration attorney in Fresno with many undocumented clients. She says her firm saw an uptick in new consultations in new and existing clients seeking out options to stay in the country legally.
For one couple she met, there may be a path. One of the pair is undocumented, while the other was born in the U.S. and is in the military.
Cook recommended they get married as soon as possible.
“We could do that and then do the adjustment, meaning [filing] an application for a green card,” Cook says.
But Cook says there are two concerns.
The first concern is that Trump could do away with Military Parole in Place. Undocumented spouses of military service members often use the path to become naturalized citizens.
The other concern is they’re a same-sex couple. With growing concerns from advocacy groups that the Supreme court could overturn gay marriage – Cook advised the couple to get their plans in order “while these options are still available.”
Attorney Veronica Garcia of the non-profit Immigrant Legal Resource Center is also bracing for fast-paced policy shakeups.
“Based on what we saw last time, We did see a lot of immediate action and executive orders,” Garcia said.
In 2017, Trump attempted to shut down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The former president argued the program was unconstitutional. While the Supreme Court will soon be weighing DACA’s legality – Garcia says the only option is to wait.
So what could be in store locally? Trump’s first term may hold some answers.
In Fresno, then-Mayor Lee Brand said the city could not guarantee protection for undocumented immigrants. Despite that, city agencies did not cooperate with immigration officials conducting deportations.
“Immigrants, both those who are documented and those who are undocumented, work and live among us. They are an integral part of the multicultural fabric that is the city of Fresno,” Brand said in a 2017 press conference.
Fresno’s current Mayor Jerry Dyer says the same thing now.
“We are here to serve them, to protect them. We're not going to be involved in any type of enforcement action of immigration laws,” he said in an interview with KVPR.
Local law enforcement agencies are setting the same tone. In an email, the Fresno Police Department said it will not cooperate with federal immigration agents unless the immigrant in question is facing criminal charges.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office issued a similar statement to the news website Fresnoland. The position is a contrast from previous Sheriff Margaret Mims’. She told former President Trump in 2018 that she wanted more cooperation between her department and federal agents.
But no matter what happens, local immigration advocacy groups say they’ll be ready.
