For New York City Newcomers, There’s No Plan B After Trump’s Victory

Immigrants from Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador fear that after being elected their promises will come true

Lucía Cholakian Herrera

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For Mario Kandamil, 24, returning to his hometown in Colombia is out of the question.

He, his wife and their 3-year-old son fled their country after he was threatened by guerrillas during his military service. As they traveled north by land, he was kidnapped by a Mexican cartel in Guerrero, he said, as well as extorted by immigration agents along the way. They came to New York with one hope: to settle, work and build a better future.

But when she heard the news that Donald Trump had won the presidency, she was shaken. “I was terrified,” he said outside his shelter in midtown Manhattan. “Just to think that we have been through so much and now they want to deport us… it seems unfair.”

Kandamil, like thousands of people in New York, is waiting for his asylum case to be resolved, although he already has a work permit that allows him to work as a driver. He hopes his son will grow up and study in the United States. But President-elect Trump has been clear about what he hopes to accomplish during his second presidency: the deportation of 13.3 million immigrants, including people like Kandamil and his family.

According to a recent report According to the American Immigration Council, “the cost of a single mass deportation operation (of) an estimated total of 13.3 million immigrants without legal status is at least $315 billion,” considering the costs of “arrest , detention, legal prosecution and expulsion.” ”, in addition to the impact on the US economy due to the loss of labor. Doing so in the most feasible period of 10 years, “(d)eporting 1 million immigrants per year, would incur an annual cost of 88 billion dollars.”

Also read: ‘We heard that they are going to deport us immediately’: Venezuelan migrants fear the worst if Donald Trump wins the election

Diego Chaves, of the Migration Policy Institute, said in an interview with Documentado that “logistically, deportation is an operation that requires millions, if not billions, of dollars and does not inherently create order,” but that Trump could choose to activate processes of deportation. as early as Day 1 at the White House.

“Through executive action, he could announce mass deportations for both immigrants and asylum seekers, which could also begin to occur soon,” he said. “However, this could eventually be challenged in court, stopping and delaying their plans. The narrative, however, can exude a sense of distrust in the system, and many asylum seekers could decide to voluntarily return or remain in the United States without any legal status.

Alejandra Sánchez, a pseudonym she requested for fear of harming her status in the US, arrived from Venezuela a year ago with her two teenage children. Standing outside a Brooklyn shelter where they live, she also told Documented that returning to her homeland is not a possibility. “Not at least while this government is still ruling,” he said. He said he faced political persecution and that his safety would be compromised if he had to return.

However, he said, there is no alternative but to pray. “I am faithful that they will not deport me,” he told Documented. “I don’t think God will fail me.”

Ten new arrivals Documented spoke to outside New York City shelters early Wednesday morning, shortly after the news that Trump won the presidency, said they would not consider leaving the United States for now. However, all said they feared being deported or having their cases rejected in court.

But Trump’s campaign relied heavily on the construction of the concept of “migrant crime,” a rhetoric that peaked when he blamed Haitian immigrants for “eating the dogs” of their Ohio neighbors; and claiming that Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan-born criminal gang, had “literally taken over the city” of Aurora, Colorado. Trump repeatedly said the United States has an “open border,” although the Biden administration has reduced legal crossings to 1,450 a day since last year.

Also read: What a Trump victory could mean for the US-Mexico border

But the president-elect’s claims about jaywalking by migrant criminals permeated even among asylum seekers, who now fear being seen as “the bad guys,” as many of them called them, rather than having their legitimate reasons to do so taken advantage of. migrate. into consideration. José Puebla, a pseudonym he requested out of fear of affecting his status in the US, from Ecuador, said that if migrants like him are deported it is because “many people are doing bad things.” Christian Morales, 35, from Venezuela, said that “we are not all bad, but we will all pay the price for the mistakes of a few.”

However, nonviolent crime in the city fell 3.1% in September 2024 compared to the same month last year, according to the NYPD. The new arrivals Documented spoke to on Nov. 6 said they had not seen others in their situation commit crimes. However, Hispanic voters who spoke with Documented during Election Day He repeatedly said that the alleged crimes and feelings of insecurity brought by the newcomers were one of his main reasons for choosing Trump.

Chaves, of the Migration Policy Institute, said Trump’s threats could also change asylum seekers’ perspective about their future in the United States. “Their narrative,” he said, “may exude a sense of distrust in the system, and many asylum seekers could decide to voluntarily return or remain in the United States without any legal status.”

But at least as of November 6 morning, with the new news that Trump was elected for the second time in American history and voted massively despite his aggressive stance toward various minority groups, including immigrants, none of the documented newcomers he spoke. They were able to say what they think will happen next in their lives.

“I just ask God to touch Trump’s heart,” Kandamil said. “And change your way of thinking.”