LEILA FADEL, HOST:
President Trump made a bold promise on the campaign trail - mass deportations. Now his administration is releasing images of immigrants being perp walked in the streets and loaded on military planes. The administration says its focus is criminals. And Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, is a regular on news shows, talking about the deportations. Here he is on Fox News.
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TOM HOMAN: When we find the bad guy, he's probably with others, others that are in the United States illegally. They may not be a criminal priority, but we're not walking away from them.
FADEL: Now, many Americans are supportive of stricter immigration restrictions, but they're divided on the harsher measures Trump has enacted. And the sweeping crackdown has created an atmosphere of fear in communities with mixed-status families. It's pervasive even in places where there haven't been these splashy immigration raids, like Hyattsville, Maryland, a 20-minute drive or so from D.C. It's home to the St. Matthew's Episcopal Church that holds services in both Spanish and English for a diverse congregation with North American, African, Caribbean and Central and South American backgrounds.
On the day we visit, the church is having its monthly food drive. At the door, flyers say I will protect and fight for DACA, immigrants and refugees. They sit next to a box filled with loaves of bread. Volunteers are breaking down the empty food boxes and filling bags with groceries. Everyone is welcome if they are in need. Lorena Sanchez (ph) is one of the volunteers. She's opening each bag, with onions, beans, rice. They serve over 200 families every month. But these days, some who are undocumented are too afraid to leave their homes and pick up the food.
LORENA SANCHEZ: (Through interpreter) We've had to deliver these bags to people because they don't feel comfortable or safe leaving their homes.
FADEL: Earlier in the same hall, we sat down with a woman who didn't want to use her full name because of the fear that percolates here.
ANNA: My name is Anna (ph). I no speak English too much.
FADEL: Anna's wearing a T-shirt that says blessed grandma, and her 4-year-old grandson's head is cradled in her lap.
ANNA: (Speaking Spanish).
FADEL: She's been in the U.S. for 21 years. She has three American children and an American grandchild, and she and her husband are the family breadwinners. The deacon of the church, Sally Ethelston, interprets.
ANNA: (Through interpreter) We come here because we want to have a better life. We want to advance the lives of our children. We don't want to hurt or do any harm to anyone.
FADEL: Anna, her husband and her oldest daughter came from El Salvador fleeing violence.
ANNA: (Speaking Spanish).
SALLY ETHELSTON: And what most concerns Anna, of course, is the younger child, because if there were some kind of a separation, it would be very difficult for them as parents but also for the child.
ANNA: (Through interpreter) It's very difficult to give custody or to think about giving custody to someone else. It's not easy to sign a document that would do that. However, I understand that the standby guardianship tool is something that can be used if they were deported. But again, it's not easy to sign such a document.
FADEL: Anna's youngest child is only 7. Maryland has long had a law for parents to choose a standby guardian in case they were physically or mentally incapacitated. When families were being separated under the last Trump administration, immigrant advocates fought to expand that law to include immigrants who may find themselves suddenly detained or deported.
So did you sign this document?
ANNA: (Speaking Spanish).
(Through interpreter) We felt that it'd be something that we needed to do. And for anyone who is undocumented, this is just a very, very difficult situation, and we are really living in fear. And we tried to explain and go through this with the kids, but the youngest one, of course, doesn't really understand. They can't really process the information. And of course, the decision still remains as if something did happen, would they then make a decision to have the child stay here in the United States more permanently? Or would they have that standby guardian actually ensure that the child made its way back to El Salvador with the parents?
FADEL: You know, this administration says, well, if people are here without documents, they shouldn't be here.
ANNA: (Through interpreter) You know, in our countries, there's really no future. There's no work. We come here and the work that we do, you know, we're able to survive. What people need to understand is that we do the most difficult and heavy, weighty type of work. And without documents, it's true that sometimes we're discriminated against.
FADEL: How has your life changed in the last few weeks since ICE raids began?
ANNA: (Through interpreter) It's had a massive effect on me because, you know, I just can't go out the same way I used to. I used to go out whenever I wanted. And it's had an impact on my health.
(Speaking Spanish).
ETHELSTON: So for example, she gives a list to her second daughter, her 18-year-old daughter, for her to actually go to the store. She gives her a list, and her daughter goes to the grocery store and buys everything that's actually needed. She is too scared to actually do that.
FADEL: And it's impacted your health?
ANNA: (Through interpreter) There are nights when I can't sleep. I've never really suffered from migraines or headaches, but literally I wake up every morning and I have a headache. And my head is just hurting all the time. I pray every day. I have a lot of faith, and I try not to be too worried, but I can't avoid it.
FADEL: Anna does seasonal work remotely so she can care for the children. Her husband is in construction, but he's downsized to smaller projects, she says, afraid a big crew would attract the attention of immigration agents. They work, and she says neither have ever committed a crime. The senior priest at this church, Father Vidal Rivas, says he's making sure people in his community know their rights, like Anna, and that includes the standby guardianship program.
VIDAL RIVAS: (Through interpreter) We as a church, we encourage our members to do something that will protect them and safeguard their children. We don't ask them about their status. Instead, we invite them to fill out these forms because we know that the president can, with a stroke of the pen, actually remove people's status, whether it's TPS or anything else. And so we ask them, when they do fill out these forms, to make sure that they choose people who either have permanent residence or citizenship.
FADEL: I mean, is it dozens of people at your church that are doing this?
RIVAS: (Through interpreter) So we really don't keep data on this. It is many people. You know, we're having five to seven families every week, but we try not to actually kind of keep track of all of this. I've been in this country for 27 years, and we've never done this before. And I've never seen a situation similar to this in terms of this new administration. You know, our people are full of fear. They're not sleeping at night. They're moving from place to place every day. The sense of persecution is real, and I might use the word terror. People are feeling terrorized. People are being terrorized.
FADEL: The priest has already signed on to be the standby guardian for 15 kids. The parents had no one else they trusted. Rivas says if the worst happens and he needs to care for them, he knows it will change his life. But he's following his Christian faith - treat your neighbor as you would yourself.
(SOUNDBITE OF GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA'S "DESANDANDO EL CAMINO") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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