Trump's mass deportation plan has Philadelphia immigration community nervous
President Trump's promise of mass deportation is making many people in the immigrant community nervous.
That includes one man who came to South Philadelphia from Indonesia when he was 9 years old. He said he has the legal documentation to work here and is now trying to get a green card, but fears it may never come, with Mr. Trump now in his second presidency.
The Indonesian native said he's advocating for immigrants through the nonprofit organization New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia. He said he understands the fear of being deported because he used to be undocumented himself.
"I think the best way to describe it, it's scary, it's anxiety-inducing and we're playing it day by day for the next four years," he said.
On Monday, Mr. Trump signed a series of executive orders targeting immigration, including one that aims to end birthright citizenship for the children of migrants. Immigration advocates in Philadelphia are vowing to fight back.
"Removing immigrants and refugees from the population is going to negatively impact our tax base, both nationally, statewide and locally, which will hurt our ability to fund things like education and health care," said Cathryn Miller-Wilson, who is the executive director of HIAS Pennsylvania, a refugee agency that represents 6,000 clients every year.
Mr. Trump has threatened to defund sanctuary cities. But the Indonesia native is hoping that does not affect Philadelphia, where approximately 47,000 undocumented immigrants live.
"The reason we stayed in Philly obviously was because of how deep and how powerful it is when it comes to being labeled as a sanctuary city," he said.