Trump's mass deportation plan looms over migrant families in California's Central Valley
STOCKTON — The details of what a mass deportation under President-elect Donald Trump could look like are still rolling out, but for undocumented families who have been in California's Central Valley for decades, they're worried.
In San Joaquin County county, agriculture is number one. There are roughly 340,000 farmworkers in the county, and a majority of them are undocumented.
The Mendoza family has been in California for over two decades, working in San Joaquin County's fields and farms.
"We're not calm because there are going to be harsher raids and with more force," Jose Mendoza said.
The family pays taxes, owns a home, and works in the fields, but they're worried about what's next.
"Being a daughter of immigrants, it's very moving because we don't know what to expect," said Jose's daughter, Yovana. "We don't know what's going to happen."
Yovana Mendoza was born in the U.S. and is now a college student. Roughly 75% of farmworkers in California are undocumented, just like her parents.
"We have our lives and our work here," she said.
They're not alone in their worries.
Jose Rodriguez, the president of El Concilio California's Stockton branch, said they've received an uptick in calls from people who are concerned about Trump's promise to create a mass deportation program.
Before November 5, the organization hardly received any calls about deportation, Rodriguez said. Now, they get around 10-15 calls about it an hour.
"[We try to] calm them down. No plan has been put in place yet, and whatever plan is put in place, people have certain civil rights," he said.
Pastor Dwight Williams is the San Joaquin County GOP chair and said the process for immigration needs to be streamlined. He acknowledged that the U.S. is a nation of immigrants but said it should be done legally.
"I am in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, but that can't be made possible until the border is secured first," he said.
Until we know whether or not the Trump administration will begin deportations, El Concilio and other similar nonprofits are committed to helping the immigrant community.
