Days before President-elect Donald Trump starts his second term, many immigrants in the U.S. are scared and anxious.
Trump's promise to deport people without legal status in the U.S. has put many communities on edge.
Nicolás, a 20-year-old from South America, told NPR he worries about the potential for mass raids by federal agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in neighborhoods and workplaces which rely heavily on immigrant labor.
"People's rights will be violated," Nicolás said in Spanish.
He's an organizer with Resistencia en Acción, which advocates for immigrant rights and the working-class in New Jersey. NPR is only identifying Nicolás by his middle name because he worries about being targeted for his immigration status.
When Trump is sworn in on Monday, Nicolás says he won't be at the restaurant where he works "because of all the attacks against us and all of the things we know could happen."
So, instead of going to work, Nicolás is joining a rally hosted by an immigration advocacy organization in New Jersey he works with. The event, he says, "is so people know we are fighting for our people."
It's unclear what actions Trump will take to target people who are living in the U.S. without legal status in his first days or weeks in office.
The Republican has said he will start mass deportations on Day One. He's also vowed to end automatic citizenship for those born in the U.S. to parents without legal status.
Trump won a second term in part by promising to crackdown on illegal immigration and bolster border security. He has vowed to prioritize the deportation of those without legal status who pose a public safety or national security threat. However, he hasn't ruled out expanding deportations to include mixed-status families and other groups. According to an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released this week, 49 percent of Americans back mass deportations. 49 percent oppose his plans.
A spokesperson for Trump's transition team told NPR in a statement that "he will deliver" on his promises, although she didn't answer a question about timing and the incoming administration's priorities.
Felicia Gomez, a senior policy advocate at the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties, told reporters Wednesday her organization has been planning for a wide range of scenarios.
"We are prepared to meet the impending Trump administration head on — in the courts, in Congress, and at the state and local levels," Gomez said. "We will use every tool in our tool box to defend civil rights and liberties of all people in our region."
The ACLU is offering "know your rights" training for migrants in different languages. It's also putting in teams to rapidly respond to any potential workplace or at-home raids.
CASA, a nonprofit organization that advocates for immigrant workers, has set up a hotline for people to call in and report raids, or ask for help for loved ones who've been detained. The line will be staffed around the clock.
Gustavo Torres, CASA's director, said organizations also have to turn their attention to the local governments.
"We continue to push for state and local protections – blocking ICE access to DMV databases, restricting facial recognition surveillance, and shutting down immigrant detention centers," Torres said in a statement. "We've secured countless state and local protections, and we will not stop until our communities are safe."
Fear during Biden's term
But Trump's promises are not the only reason why immigrant communities are on edge. Under the Biden administration — which has deported a record number of migrants since 2014 — many haven't felt safe.
Last week, Customs and Border Protection conducted arrests in California's Central Valley. According to CBP, 78 migrants without legal status were detained during the 3-day operation. The agency says those arrested had broken the law.
Mario Gonzalez, the Deputy Director of Centro La Familia Advocacy Services in Fresno, Calif., told NPR people in his community are scared.
"Over the weekend, and days after people were not coming out, people were not leaving their homes," Gonzalez said.
He said his organization has been receiving non-stop calls from people asking what they can do to protect themselves.
Employers have also gotten involved.
"This time around we are seeing employers actually reach out ahead of time and ask us for us to show up and do know-your-rights training to their employees," Gonzalez said. "This is something new as well — not something that we saw a lot of prior to this."
He says this is a sign of how some employers see the value of the immigrant workforce, one that could be decimated if mass deportations were to take place.
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