Utah immigrant advocates say election results have prompted fear, concern in the community

Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes

SALT LAKE CITY — In the wake of Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential race and his tough talk against immigrants here illegally, immigrant advocates in Utah say many in the community are on edge.

"We're hearing a lot of scared community members that are really wondering about what's going to happen to them," said Aden Batar, director of migration and refugee services for Catholic Community Services. The Salt Lake City-based organization is one of several in Utah that offer legal aid to immigrants.

Likewise, Maria Montes, of Comunidades Unidades, a West Valley City-based immigrant advocacy group, said she's hearing a mix of frustration, despair and anger. "Overwhelmingly, there's a lot of concern for safety," she said.

Trump's presidential campaign put a focus on immigrants here illegally, with the Republican candidate vowing to carry out the "largest deportation operation in American history" if elected to a second term as president. Trump has particularly decried violent crime caused by immigrants here illegally and the increases he says they cause in housing, education and health care costs — concerns that resonate with many in Utah and beyond.

Indeed, immigration was his top campaign issue, helping him garner 59.2% of the presidential vote in Utah and pushing him to a decisive victory over Democrat Kamala Harris. The president-elect has tough words for immigrants here illegally, saying they are overrunning the country, inundating the country with illegal drugs, behind a "crime epidemic," taking jobs from Americans and taxing U.S. government resources.

But Batar, Montes and other advocates have a starkly different view of the immigration issue and immigrants, seeing them, generally speaking, as family-oriented, contributing members of society. They're left wondering what exactly to expect when Trump takes office in January.

"The biggest fear is what's going to happen to all the DACA recipients who've been here for a long, long time now, have families, homes, jobs. They've been to college. Is he just going to ... turn those guys out in the street?" questioned Ogden immigration attorney Jonathan Bachison, noting that many are holding down jobs, have U.S.-born kids and are established in their communities.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, implemented in 2012 under President Barack Obama, has provided a means for immigrants brought here illegally as kids by their parents to remain and work lawfully in the United States. As of early 2023, there were 579,000 DACA recipients in the country, and the future of the initiative — targeted by Trump during his first term as president — is focus of an ongoing court fight.

Bachison, while cognizant of the "unsustainable" situation at the U.S.-Mexico border and the need to get a handle on the flow of immigrants, also wonders about the future of federal initiatives granting temporary protected status to certain immigrants from Venezuela, El Salvador, Haiti and other countries. Some have been lawfully in the United States for 30 years due to such programs, geared to those fleeing war or environmental disaster, among other things, and there's a lot of worry that Trump will "suspend all of those programs," he said.

Rather than putting targets on the backs of all immigrants, Bachison went on, Trump should focus on on those who have committed crimes, those who have pending deportation orders and those who have been deported and returned to the United States. That's been the focus of prior U.S. administrations, he said, including Trump's first administration.

Ysabel Lonazco, a West Valley immigration attorney, said memories of Trump's first term have prompted alarm among some of her clients. "All I hear from my clients are just, 'What do I do now? Do I leave? Do I just pack and leave?'" Lonazco said.

Regardless of the tough talk, though, there are still legal procedures officials have to follow, even for those here illegally. "Yes, there are going to be new policies, new government policies and new priorities. But there is a process. So if people are already in deportation proceedings, they have to understand that there is a due process and that they have rights," Lonazco said.

South Jordan immigration attorney Carlos Trujillo echoed that, pushing back against the notion that U.S. forces would be able to forcefully round up immigrants and send them from the country without any sort of due process. That's particularly true for those seeking asylum or lawful status under other provisions of U.S. immigration law. "There is no way that he will be able to just put you in an airplane and send you back. So you breathe in, breathe out, and know that your due process rights will have to be upheld," he said.

Apart from worries about deportation, some of his clients worry about raids on businesses by immigration officials seeking immigrants here illegally or the employers that hire them. Accordingly, Trujillo said his office has been stressing to his clients their right to remain silent and their rights when authorities come to their homes. "That's a lot of the focus that we have with the community — to teach them and empower them in regard to their rights," Trujillo said.

'One day at a time'

Batar said Catholic Community Services is continuing its regular weekly sessions geared to immigrants seeking legal information and advice, waiting for a clearer idea of what to expect. "It is too early to know what the policies of the new administration are going to be," he said.

Montes, of Comunidades Unidas, said the organization is focused on educating its clients on their legal rights and plans to reach out to schools to advise them of possible backlash immigrant students could face as new initiatives potentially gain steam. Some students faced verbal and physical assaults during Trump's first term as his efforts targeting certain immigrants unfolded, she said.

Comunidades Unidas will also put a focus on advocating for day laborers, workers — sometimes here illegally — who stand outside home improvement stores seeking short-term construction and landscaping work. "Oftentimes, day laborers are the first targets of anti-immigrant attacks," Montes said.

Lonazco said immigration attorneys' experiences during Trump's first term give them an idea of what to expect this go round, same for some Comunidades Unidas community members. "They feel resilient and prepared to stand up and fight back," Montes said.

Still, Bachison says it's hard to know exactly what's to come. "We take it one day at a time, but it doesn't look good," he said.