Stockton nonprofit says deportation fears haven't gone away despite law enforcement support
STOCKTON — It's been three months since President Trump returned to the White House.
Organizations like El Concilio in Stockton say the fear of deportations in the undocumented community is still just as high.
"Not only is there that fear, but there is a lot of uncertainty in terms of what to do. In some cases, people are paralyzed," said Jose Rodriguez.
Rodriguez is the CEO of El Concilio, a nonprofit that works firsthand with the undocumented population.
He said that since President Trump took office for the second time, the calls into his Stockton office from the undocumented community have skyrocketed.
In light of recent national headlines, they've come back again.
"Despite our efforts to keep people calm, people are still scared. People are saying, 'Well, you said this,' and 'What about this?' So the number of calls hasn't diminished," he said.
But is there a reason to be scared? Rodriguez says for those in San Joaquin County, no.
"But I think that locally, at least here in the state of California, our governor and legislature have indicated they're going to be opposed to what the Trump administration is doing. It's going to have a negative impact on the state of California," he said.
El Concilio says another reason not to worry is that local law enforcement in San Joaquin County has said they will not help ICE conduct deportation raids on non-offenders.
The state has vowed to protect law-abiding undocumented immigrants, but advocates still advise seeking out help.
"Get an immigration lawyer," Blake Nordahl said. "I think, definitely, people are anxious. Even U.S. citizens are worried frankly."
Nordahl is a clinical professor of law at the University of the Pacific. He said to get someone on your side who understands the law and to work toward citizenship.
"If they're undocumented, can they become a permanent resident? If they're a permanent resident, can they become a U.S. citizen?" he said.
Nordahl said that it gets a little tougher on the undocumented population because there's a shortage of immigration lawyers but a plethora of cases.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, as of March, there are 3.6 million active cases backlogged in the country.
