Watch CBS News

Fear rippling across undocumented communities in the Delaware Valley over Trump's mass deportation threats

Undocumented immigrants fear the future after Trump vows mass deportation
Undocumented immigrants fear the future after Trump vows mass deportation 02:09

The election of former president Donald Trump is sparking fear in communities with undocumented immigrants.

Trump has promised to carry out the largest mass deportation in American history, starting on day one of his second presidency. He will be sworn in on January 20.

CBS News Philadelphia spoke to a migrant from the Dominican Republic who does trash removal for businesses in Wilmington, Delaware.

wright-4-pm-pkg-deportation-concerns-redo-frame-2868.jpg
CBS Philadelphia

"People who do bad things, deport them, but those who are making an honest living, who haven't done anything bad, give them a chance," he said in Spanish.

He said the money he earns in the United States supports his parents and two daughters who are still living in his home country.

Immigration rights groups are vowing to fight back against any of Trump's policies targeting migrants.

"We certainly think some kind of mass deportation without due process would violate the Constitution, so we are working closely with the ACLU," Cathryn Miller-Wilson, executive director of the immigrant resettlement agency HIAS Pennsylvania, said. "They would likely file the lawsuit. We would be bringing them plaintiffs. We would be signing amicus briefs, those kinds of things."

HIAS Pennsylvania is encouraging eligible clients to apply for temporary protected status to shield them from deportation.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.