ORLANDO, Fla. – With a special legislative session underway in Tallahassee, attorneys at The Immigration Advocates in Longwood say fear and anxiety are affecting many of their clients.
“They’re in full panic mode,” said Tamaira Rivera, a former ICE assistant chief counsel and immigration judge turned immigration attorney.
Since the swearing-in of President Donald Trump, Rivera’s office has experienced a significant surge in outreach from clients and organizations.
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“It’s not just calls,” Rivera explained. “It’s texts, it’s, ‘I found your phone number.’ Every which way they can communicate with us. We are getting calls from not just individuals but organizations, churches.”
Rivera added that the heightened anxiety is affecting not only migrants but also their children. According to a memo sent to parents by Orange County Public Schools, “Student interrogation and arrest may occur on campus.”
“There are already reports of students missing school because they are afraid they might be picked up by ICE while they are there,” Rivera said. “And we’re talking about young children of tender age.”
Some clients have decided to move out of Florida entirely in search of safer legal pathways in other states.
“They don’t know whether to show up to work,” Rivera said. “They don’t know whether to allow their child to go to school where they may be used as bait. If ICE is allowed into the school and they start questioning their child, logically a parent might show up.”
Rivera criticized the current political climate, saying it unfairly stigmatizes Florida’s migrant population.
“The great majority are not criminals,” she said. “They are hard-working people. Some came here for economic reasons to do better for their families, and others are truly in fear for their lives.”
The Immigration Advocates said it is monitoring legislative updates closely to better advise its clients.
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