Latest news with #Immigrants'AssistanceCenter
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Portuguese families 'living under fear' are leaving US, returning to Azores. Here's why.
NEW BEDFORD — Between 15 and 20 families of Azorean Portuguese descent have gotten their paperwork together, purchased a plane ticket, and flown back to the Azores, according to Helena da Silva Hughes, president of the nonprofit Immigrants' Assistance Center at 58 Crapo St. in New Bedford. Hughes said about 1,000 undocumented families living in Greater Fall River who visited the United States and overstayed their tourist visas — while putting down roots deep enough to run businesses, purchase homes and start families — are now planning to return to Western Portugal and the Azores Islands, where they still have family and community connections. 'Families sold everything to come here,' Hughes said. Now, she said, they're selling homes and businesses 'to go back.' Cleaning businesses, restaurants and construction are just some of the businesses Hughes said are common in SouthCoast communities where visa-holders of Portuguese descent are willing to work under the table in return for economic opportunity and the chance to provide their children with 'a better life.' 'Living under this fear,' said Hughes — fear that keeps them from leaving their homes for work or sending their children to school — 'is no way to live.' Back in court: Despite dismissal new hearing set for Guatemalan man arrested by ICE in New Bedford As of May 5, the Department of Homeland Security under President Donald J. Trump issued a proposal offering $1,000 stipends and free airfare to immigrants who deport themselves as part of the current administration's crackdown on illegal immigration since January. The latest proposal enhances the department's previous encouragement to undocumented immigrants to leave, using the Customs and Border Protection's CBP Home App. The department has estimated paying for voluntary deportations would be less expensive than the current average of $17,121 to arrest, detain and remove an undocumented immigrant. 'If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest,' DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. Hughes said Portuguese, Cape Verde and Brazilian families, especially those with children, heard this message and are in the process of leaving the United States on their own accord as soon as the school year ends. But, she said, they are less comfortable adding their information to the CBP registry. The app is linked to a user's name, uses facial recognition, and can track a user's location through the phone's GPS. People who are self-deporging report that they are asked to take a photo of themselves, provide personally identifying information, disclose whether they have a passport from another country, and say whether they "have enough money to depart the United States." Trump told reporters at the White House on May 5 that courts have made it difficult to deport immigrants, but that he hopes the Supreme Court will eventually side with his administration. Trump said migrants who deport themselves could receive some money, get 'a beautiful flight back to where they came from,' and have the chance to return to the United States if they work hard. Community in fear: ICE fliers seeking 'unaccompanied alien' children frighten New Bedford immigrants Hughes, who was invited to participate in summit talks in São Miguel with the Azorean government and other regional agencies to learn how they can support the undocumented, said 'the biggest challenge the island now has is educating American children.' Hughes cited the difficulty in tracking returning families who have simply updated their passports and bought an international flight. She said she has advised Azorean government officials to check school enrollments for an uptick in U.S.-born students. Amid what Hughes is calling 'anti-immigrant sentiment,' on account of an 'unjust narrative' that targets 'criminals,' she maintained that not all ethnic groups have equal opportunities to depart voluntarily from the U.S. Central and South Americans have illegally crossed the border to flee gangs, political upheaval and economic downturn, Hughes said. These families often hire and later compensate coyotes thousands of dollars to help their families cross the border. Migrant workers must repay them or they risk their family's safety at home. 'Immigration is very complicated,' Hughes said. Trump has said people with final deportation orders should be a priority for removal although many have families, jobs and established ties in the United States. "If they miss that limit, they're going to be taken out of our country," Trump said recently. "And they will never get a path to come back in. And it will be a much tougher process." Hughes said immigration in the 1970s and '80s followed roughly a two-and-a-half-year process initiated by a citizen who could petition for family members to join them in the United States. Now, the legal process stretches to 12 years, she said, citing the need for immigration reform. Homeland Security has said migrants who agree to leave voluntarily will be less of a priority for detention and removal, adding that participation in the program may preserve the option for them to re-enter the United States legally in the future. But fears about the promises made by the Trump administration persist, Hughes said, leading most families to avoid the registry and leave quietly instead. She added that the $1,000 stipend is "not a lot" — nowhere near enough for someone to rebuild a life overseas. 'What's happening now,' Hughes said, 'no one has ever seen.' With USA Today reports. This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Greater Fall River families return to the Azores to avoid deportation
Boston Globe
28-04-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Amid Trump's immigration crackdown, local employers wonder: Who will fill all the jobs?
Related : And amid the chaos, business owners are beginning to wrestle with a difficult question: Who'll fill all their jobs if immigrants go away? With many businesses — from construction and landscaping to hotels and gift shops — gearing up for spring, the Trump administration's revocation of protections for various immigrant groups is straining an already-tight labor market. A growing drumbeat of messaging from federal authorities that people here without permanent status should simply leave has many employers and advocates quietly wondering who exactly will wash dishes, clean office buildings, and staff nursing homes if they do. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'I think the economic impact is going to be huge,' said Helena DaSilva Hughes, who runs the Immigrants' Assistance Center in New Bedford. 'Nobody is talking about it yet because they don't want to bring attention to it.' Advertisement President Trump has been clamping down on immigrants since his first day in office, when he issued executive orders limiting access and tightening enforcement. Since then, his administration has Advertisement Ethan Auclair, 12, held a sign reading "Dignity Not Deportations" during a pro-democracy rally at Hancock Adams Common in Quincy on April 19. Erin Clark/Globe Staff Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security sent a letter to people who were granted humanitarian parole — temporary entry for people with a credible fear of returning to their home countries — noting that their legal status would be terminated in seven days. 'Do not remain in the United States,' the letter said. 'The federal government will find you.' DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to requests for comment. Nationwide, immigrants made up nearly one-fifth 'Our industry is very dependent on labor that the average American does not want to do, whether it's dishwashing or flipping burgers for a living,' said the owner of the suburban restaurant west of Boston who — like many business owners reached by the Globe — requested anonymity to avoid drawing attention from immigration authorities. 'And the labor force we use tends to be an immigration population. I'd love to know who's going to clean the toilets at Trump's towers and everywhere else.' Related : The owner has been trying for days to find legal support for a worker who was told by ICE agents to buy a plane ticket and self-deport by May 7. That employee, she said, came here from Guatemala with his wife and daughter two years ago, seeking political asylum. He has a work permit and a Social Security number, and has been checking in monthly with a local ICE office while his asylum case is being processed. But now he's being ordered to leave. Advertisement 'We're all just terrified,' she said. It's a new and complicated reality for companies and workers who have long played by the rules. Employers searching for workers in Chelsea's produce center or the fish processing plants in New Bedford often rely on LaborNow, a local staffing agency in Braintree that specializes in finding workers for manufacturing jobs. Michael Powers, an analyst at the firm, said it has always followed federal and Massachusetts protocols for hiring, but as of March it has begun using the federal government's voluntary E-verify system for all workers they offer jobs to. It's a step that 'generally will dissuade people from applying who don't have good paperwork,' he said. Michael Powers worked in his home office for the staffing agency LaborNow. He is an analyst for the firm, which specializes in finding workers for manufacturing jobs. Debee Tlumacki The scope and scale of what the administration has done in its opening months has taken immigration advocates aback. The constant rollback of protected status designations — and the lawsuits filed to challenge them — has groups like Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition scrambling to help immigrants and employers alike understand the state of play. 'The lessons from the first Trump administration really did not prepare us for the severity of how many different areas would be attacked and changed,' said MIRA's executive director Elizabeth Sweet. 'The pace of this is quite extraordinary and it's leaving everyone reeling.' Advertisement Lower-wage jobs in particular have high numbers of newly arrived immigrant workers. An estimated Related : Jose de la Rosa, chief executive of Guardian Healthcare in Jamaica Plain, said two of his home health care workers from Cape Verde were recently stopped by ICE agents in New Bedford and asked to show their papers, despite being in the US legally. The women were each questioned for over an hour, and missed their appointments to see elderly patients, he said. 'We only knew about it because the patients called, asking 'Where's my aide? She's not here,'' he said. Both women were released, but one was so upset she resigned on the spot, de la Rosa said, telling him she was afraid to be out in public. The uncertainty, he said, is upending his ability to support his workers and serve his clients. 'I'm not against immigration laws and I'm not saying that immigration laws should be broken,' de la Rosa said. 'But if you enforce immigration laws, there has to be a process.' Several local restaurateurs acknowledged that their industry depends on undocumented workers, especially in the kitchen, and those numbers are sure to rise if those working here legally have their protections revoked. Many unauthorized immigrants Related : Advertisement There is 'a drastic increase in anxiety and fear' throughout the restaurant industry, which is already grappling with staffing shortages, said Anne Eisemann, founder of the Boston human resources consulting firm Hopdov. Eisemann, a former employment lawyer who works with restaurants around New England, has been schooling restaurateurs about immigration enforcement, including the fact that ICE agents need a warrant signed by a judge to access private spaces or arrest a worker onsite. But many employers aren't aware of their workers' immigration status beyond the fact that they're authorized to work, immigration attorneys said, and might not realize how much the termination of temporary protections could affect their workforce. And in heavily Latino cities like Lynn, Chelsea, and Lawrence, restaurant owners have seen sales plummet because their customers are avoiding public spaces — particularly at night — for fear of raids or immigration status checks, said Eneida Roman, the chief executive of We Are ALX, an advocacy group supporting Latino leaders and business owners in Massachusetts. 'They're suffering,' she said. 'Restaurants are empty because people aren't going out as much.' As summer approaches, the immigrant crackdown could also have a devastating impact on popular tourist destinations that depend on short-term — and often foreign-born — workers. Visitors on Main Street in downtown Hyannis in August 2023. Barry Chin/Globe Staff One major source of seasonal employment on Cape Cod — the State Department's J-1 visa program that allows international students to temporarily travel and work in the United States — was already facing a drop in interest following Trump's actions. Now the program itself appears to be on the chopping block, according to an Advertisement If these changes come to pass, they would cripple the Cape Cod labor force, said Paul Niedzwiecki, who heads the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, leaving visitors and employers subject to disruptions akin to what took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. 'Restaurants are the canaries in the coal mine,' he said, predicting that travelers will again find limited menus, changed hours, and longer lines if restaurants can't staff up. 'It will definitely change the visitors' experience,' he said. Related : The parallels to the COVID crisis are striking to many employers, and several noted they're drawing from their pandemic playbooks to navigate through this new crisis. There's one major difference however, said DaSilva Hughes, the immigrant advocate in New Bedford. 'During COVID we hailed these front-line workers as heroic,' she said. 'How ironic that we went from calling them heroes to wanting them out of the United States.' A view of Crapo Street in New Bedford, where Helena DaSilva Hughes's office is. She runs the Immigrants' Assistance Center in New Bedford. Debee Tlumacki This story was produced by the Globe's team, which covers the racial wealth gap in Greater Boston. You can sign up for the newsletter . Katie Johnston can be reached at
