Trump deportation threat sows panic among Florida migrants

MIAMI: Around 100 people are jammed into offices in Miami that are offering free or low-cost legal advice to migrants, many of them undocumented and desperate to normalise their status after President Donald Trump threatened to deport millions of people in the coming weeks.

With heads bowed and files bulging with forms and papers, the undocumented migrants -- most of them from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti or Honduras -- are waiting to meet specialists who can help their case. Jose Luis says he escaped from Cuba to Guyana before crossing South America to Chile, then following the Andes north and finally crossing the US-Mexico border into Texas.

He eventually reached Miami where he was reunited with his 14-year-old daughter. "That’s what we Cubans have to go through to get out of Cuba because of the tragedy that has engulfed our country," said the 46-year-old, who did not wish to give his family name.

The migrants are gathered at a branch of the Church World Service (CWS) charity, which has been inundated since Trump threatened last week to "begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens".

The next day, Trump would officially launch his 2020 re-election campaign, around 240 miles north of Miami, in Orlando. His remarks triggered a wave of panic, with undocumented migrants expecting immigration police to launch a series of raids in the days that followed. However, the administration then said it was postponing the crackdown until next week. Maureen Porras, managing attorney at CWS, said many of the people who had crossed the border without documents had already been seeking to regularise their status even before Trump’s announcement.

"This just pushed them just a little bit more to come and seek services faster," she said. "We have clients that, after that announcement was made, were contacting me and asking, ‘Hey does this apply to me?’, you know: ‘Am I in danger?’"

"And of course we are preparing as best as we can," she told AFP, saying the charity has expanded its services and is seeking extra financial support. Lawyers and activists ensure that migrants know their rights, have their papers in order, organise for someone to look after their kids should they be arrested and, above all, know not to open the door if immigration police do not have a warrant.

But Cuban Carlos Iraola Reyes has taken the difficult decision to move on from Florida, where the law obliges local police forces to cooperate with immigration agents. "I’m going to Texas because it’s more welcoming," said the 31-year-old electrical engineer. "You think I can move freely? That would be very naive."

Uruguayan Rosana Araujo also feels at risk. "I’m scared because I don’t have legal status," said the 51-year-old domestic worker. "We are living through a terrifying period when you’re scared of going out into the street, of going to work, or going to the supermarket," she said.