From Texas Public Radio:
On Inauguration Day on Monday, as Donald Trump was being sworn in as the 47th president, and returned to power with speech peppered with notions that America is in decline, the San Antonio Catholic Charities’ MRC Centro de Bienvenida (MRC), kept its doors open in its efforts to continue its mission to provide a safe and welcoming place for asylum seeking migrants.
During his campaign and even after his Election Day win, Trump has promised to launch a mass deportation plan.
Trump has said he would declare illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, a national emergency and that he would send troops to deport criminal offenders and invoke a 1798 wartime law known as the Alien Enemies Act to target foreign gang members in the U.S.
This authority was last used to detain non-citizens of Japanese, German, and Italian descent in internment camps during World War II.
In San Antonio, 1600 miles away from the inaugural ceremony speech-making of Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, the MRC, by all indications, was having a typical sort of day. The only unusual thing there was the weather, as a bitter cold front caused temperatures to plummet down to the 20s on Monday morning.
Police patrolled the parking lots around the MRC. Migrants, bundled up in jackets, hoodies and knit hats, scurried past guards.
Some of the men from the MRC gathered across San Pedro Blvd. calling out “¡Trabajo!” or “Work!” in an attempt to attract the attention of someone who might hire them for day labor.
Among about a dozen men huddling against the cold, was Andres. The 22-year-old hails from Colombia. In Spanish, he said that he loves the United States and even likes Donald Trump.
He said that now that Trump will be president again, he will do what is right for the country. He added that he believes that migrants who will be deported are people who don’t follow the rules.
Another man, Nelson, approached and added his own opinion. The 36-year-old man who is also from Colombia, said that he managed to survive a dangerous trek across the Darién Gap to come to the United States. He said he had to leave his country because of the violence and corruption there. He said that all he wants to do is work to improve his life. He added that he heard if you don’t cause problems in the United States, you will be allowed to stay.
But that’s not what Trump himself is saying. Although he’s made the point that his first priority is to deport criminal migrants, he’s also promised to expel an estimated 11 to 14 million people who are living in the United States without permission.
Trump’s border czar Tom Homan has said that being in the country illegally is a crime—so both assertions from Trump and Homan can be true, leaving a narrow window of possibility for people like Andres and Nelson to continue to live in the shadows.
Andres and Nelson acknowledge that if they are caught and deported, being sent back to Colombia would be God’s will.
