Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
As Trump Declares Border Emergency, CA's Targeted Immigrants Lie Low
gvw_calmatters
By CalMatters
Published 2 weeks ago on
January 21, 2025

Saul Muñoz, 53, waits for any job opportunities in front of a Home Depot in San Diego, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (CalMatters/Adriana Heldiz)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Undocumented immigrants and their California families braced for the worst — and many told CalMatters they would go underground — as newly sworn-in President Donald Trump began issuing executive orders to enable what he promises will be the most massive deportation in U.S. history.

Wendy Fry 

CalMatters

“It’s draining my energy a lot, thinking of what’s going to happen and not knowing exactly what’s going to happen with me and my family and my daughters,” said Frank, a resident of northeastern Los Angeles who asked to be identified only by his first name because of his ongoing immigration case.

Advocates reported hearing from parents who were considering keeping their children home from school this week. Some neighbors said they will dispatch their children to shop for groceries and run errands, so they can mostly stay inside the house.

“I plan to just stay very local, no unnecessary trips, and thank God my work is close to my house,” said Frank, who is a restaurant cook and came to this country without federal authorization from El Salvador about 20 years ago.

Kathleen, his wife of seven years and a U.S. citizen, called the situation “terrifying” and said she was worried about him and “what I would be left to deal with and having to take care of our kids on my own.”

Trump Says He’ll Send Troops to the Border

In his inaugural speech, President Trump previewed a planned series of executive orders that he began rolling out later in the day. Monday evening, he officially declared a national emergency at the southern border that “requires use of the Armed Forces” — a move for which he can expect to face legal hurdles.

“All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came,” Trump continued in his inaugural address, without providing details yet about how he could miraculously end all illegal entry. His tally of noncitizens with criminal convictions is far higher than that reported by federal immigration authorities.

The Republican president also said he planned to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy in place during his first term, which forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their U.S. court hearings to present their immigration cases.

“I will end the practice of ‘catch and release,’ and I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country,” he continued.

President’s Order Ends Birthright Citizenship

As expected, he issued an executive order designating Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. “And by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks …” he said.

And he signed yet another order to revoke birthright citizenship — the right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing citizenship to anyone born in the country or its territories regardless of their parents’ immigration status. Trump wants the Supreme Court to reinterpret the provision. A legal challenge is a certainty.

Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump holds the Bible during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP/Morry Gash)

San Diego Protests

By late afternoon on the West Coast, several hundred protesters began marching from San Diego’s Balboa Park to the Hall of Justice, chanting, “When immigrant lives are under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back!”

“I’m worried about migrant people because this will be really hard for the next four years. It was before too, when Trump had power the last time. It was really crazy for us right there on the border, and we expect the same thing right now or worse,” said Alejandro Ortigoza, 50, the leader of Armadillos Busqueda y Rescate, a group that goes out into the desert to search for the remains of missing migrants.

Yet even as the new president was declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, people whose lives straddle it mostly carried on with business as usual.

Lighter than normal foot traffic continued through the “pedestrian east” crossing at San Ysidro as people calmly headed for the trolley under the familiar noise of a helicopter circling above.

In the Home Depot parking lot in Imperial Beach, day laborers gathered as they usually do, seeking odd jobs helping San Diegans move or clean up their lawns. They said they cross the border every day from their homes in Tijuana and didn’t expect  Trump’s executive orders would heavily affect them. Still, several planned to carry documents proving they are naturalized U.S. citizens everywhere they go.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Juan, a 60-year-old from Sinaloa, Mexico, and a naturalized U.S. citizen who lives in Tijuana and crosses the border daily to work. “It’s not convenient for the U.S., nor for Mexico, to close the border. It won’t benefit either country.”

“I think Trump is very racist….and he’s not right in the head,” he added.

Juan declined to give his last name out of fear of retaliation or harassment for sharing his negative opinion about the president. He keeps proof of his legal status ready. “I always bring my certification, saying I’m naturalized everywhere I go. I have it in my backpack always.”

About the Author

Wendy Fry is an Emmy-winning multimedia investigative journalist who reports on poverty and inequality for the California Divide team. Based in San Diego and Mexico, Wendy has been covering the California border region for more than 15 years and covers immigration, reparations, and issues affecting San Diego-area families.

About CalMatters

CalMatters is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom committed to explaining California policy and politics.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

With Immigrant Backgrounds, Vang, Leon Barraza Seek Fresno Council Seat

DON'T MISS

Justice Department Won’t Release Names of FBI Agents Who Worked on Jan. 6 Riot Cases

DON'T MISS

Aliens, Sloths and Silliness: Super Bowl Ads Offer Laughs, Celebs and Surprises to Win Over Viewers

DON'T MISS

Mother Pleads for Britain’s Help in Freeing Son From Egyptian Prison

DON'T MISS

Clean Energy Interests Shift Focus to Money and Jobs

DON'T MISS

Russia Claims Capture of Eastern Ukraine Town; Kyiv Officials Silent

DON'T MISS

Search Underway Along Alaska’s Western Coast for Plane Carrying 10 People

DON'T MISS

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Slips as Consumers Worry About Inflation

DON'T MISS

What Is the International Criminal Court and How Will Trump’s Sanctions Impact It?

DON'T MISS

The Slash-and-Burn Tactics Musk Brings to Washington Often Backfired at Twitter

UP NEXT

Justice Department Won’t Release Names of FBI Agents Who Worked on Jan. 6 Riot Cases

UP NEXT

Aliens, Sloths and Silliness: Super Bowl Ads Offer Laughs, Celebs and Surprises to Win Over Viewers

UP NEXT

Mother Pleads for Britain’s Help in Freeing Son From Egyptian Prison

UP NEXT

Clean Energy Interests Shift Focus to Money and Jobs

UP NEXT

Russia Claims Capture of Eastern Ukraine Town; Kyiv Officials Silent

UP NEXT

Search Underway Along Alaska’s Western Coast for Plane Carrying 10 People

UP NEXT

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Slips as Consumers Worry About Inflation

UP NEXT

What Is the International Criminal Court and How Will Trump’s Sanctions Impact It?

UP NEXT

The Slash-and-Burn Tactics Musk Brings to Washington Often Backfired at Twitter

UP NEXT

Live Poultry Markets Ordered Shut in New York City Due to Avian Flu Outbreak

Mother Pleads for Britain’s Help in Freeing Son From Egyptian Prison

1 hour ago

Clean Energy Interests Shift Focus to Money and Jobs

1 hour ago

Russia Claims Capture of Eastern Ukraine Town; Kyiv Officials Silent

1 hour ago

Search Underway Along Alaska’s Western Coast for Plane Carrying 10 People

2 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Slips as Consumers Worry About Inflation

2 hours ago

What Is the International Criminal Court and How Will Trump’s Sanctions Impact It?

2 hours ago

The Slash-and-Burn Tactics Musk Brings to Washington Often Backfired at Twitter

2 hours ago

Live Poultry Markets Ordered Shut in New York City Due to Avian Flu Outbreak

2 hours ago

Drink and Drive? Your Super Bowl Could Be Spent in Fresno Jail

2 hours ago

US Employers Added 143,000 Jobs in January Hiring, Jobless Rate Fell to 4%

3 hours ago

With Immigrant Backgrounds, Vang, Leon Barraza Seek Fresno Council Seat

Jose Leon Barraza and Brandon Vang have similar stories, emanating from opposite sides of the world. Both immigrated to America, seeking a b...

24 minutes ago

24 minutes ago

With Immigrant Backgrounds, Vang, Leon Barraza Seek Fresno Council Seat

58 minutes ago

Justice Department Won’t Release Names of FBI Agents Who Worked on Jan. 6 Riot Cases

1 hour ago

Aliens, Sloths and Silliness: Super Bowl Ads Offer Laughs, Celebs and Surprises to Win Over Viewers

1 hour ago

Mother Pleads for Britain’s Help in Freeing Son From Egyptian Prison

1 hour ago

Clean Energy Interests Shift Focus to Money and Jobs

1 hour ago

Russia Claims Capture of Eastern Ukraine Town; Kyiv Officials Silent

The city of Nome, Alaska, awaits the first Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race musher Tuesday, March 14, 2023. Ryan Redington won the race. (AP File)
2 hours ago

Search Underway Along Alaska’s Western Coast for Plane Carrying 10 People

2 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Slips as Consumers Worry About Inflation

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend