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Twin Cities woman staying home in fear of ICE hopes people "see our struggle"

Volunteers with Dios Habla Hoy Church in Minneapolis spend five to six days a week packing and delivering meals for the more than 10,000 families, the church's pastor said are too afraid to leave their homes. That fear stems from increased ICE activity

Officials with ICE have said they are targeting individuals with deportation orders as part of Operation Metro Surge, but even those who say they're here legally have said they've also become targets.

One Twin Cities woman, who's going by the name Cristina, said she's scared for her husband and three children.

"I'm still afraid going out. I'm still afraid of driving my kids to school," Cristina said. "I get panic attacks even when my husband has to leave."

This is the second week Cristina said her family has stayed home as much as possible. Her husband primarily only leaves for work and family generally only to attend church, she said.

Cristina is a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, she said. The program, created by President Obama in 2012, allows immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally as children to live and work in the U.S. without fear of deportation.

Despite her DACA status, Cristina said she's worried about racial profiling and what would happen to her kids if she or her husband were taken into custody.

For now, Cristina said she's able to work from home, but is unsure if that will be an option in the future. She spoke about why she's sharing her story.

"Hopefully this could touch some hearts, touch some people, and could see our struggle, could see that we are humans, that we are scared, and we're not doing nothing wrong, anything wrong," Cristina said.

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