The Emotional Whiplash and Distress in Mixed-Status Communities

July 14, 2025

Guest blogger: Ari Leon, University of San Francisco Masters in Migration Studies Student

During his 2024 presidential campaign, President Trump pledged a sweeping crackdown on undocumented immigrants, vowing mass deportations and framing migrants as “criminals, rapists, and terrorists.” While associating criminality with immigration is not new, Trump’s approach has gone further than previous administrations, introducing extreme measures that have triggered widespread fear and uncertainty in mixed-status communities.

Examples of these extreme measures include the invocation of the Alien Exclusion Act to deport individuals without due process, targeting migrants based on suspicion of criminality and terrorism. Additionally, Trump has rolled back previous Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) policies that limited enforcement in “sensitive locations” such as schools, hospitals, and places of worship—spaces that once offered some reassurance to immigrant families. The Trump administration implemented an executive order to deny Birthright Citizenship to children of undocumented parents and deported a US citizen, an 11-year-old girl with brain cancer. On June 6, 2025, ICE conducted an aggressive series of raids in Los Angeles, which sparked mass protests at a federal courthouse. In response, President Trump deployed the National Guard and the Marines, without the consent of California Governor Gavin Newsom, escalating tensions even further.

These actions, combined with the broader anti-immigrant climate, have created a chilling effect. Many mixed-status families now feel there are no safe spaces left and feel like they could become a victim to detention and deportation. Routine activities like taking a child to school, going to work, or shopping for groceries have become sources of anxiety, as the fear hangs constantly over their lives. This terror is a reminder to mixed-status communities that their lives are influenced by anti-immigrant politics and the decisions made by politicians. This lack of control over their own lives results in people living on the edge, questioning their future, and struggling with the psychological weight and reality that they could lose their rights, their ability to work, and face deportation at any moment.

What mixed-status communities are experiencing is dehumanizing. We are all human and deserve basic rights. As both a scholar of Migration Studies and someone directly affected by today’s racialized approach to migration policy, I believe it’s vital to share how these realities have affected my life, my family, and my community.

I was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and emigrated to the United States when I was just ten months old. My family fled due to cartel violence and the extreme poverty we endured. My parents risked their lives and left their families to pursue the American Dream to provide their children better opportunities and access to higher education. As part of the last generation to qualify for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), I have had the opportunity to renew my permit every two years, which has protected me from deportation and granted me work authorization. This has allowed me to pursue a bachelor’s degree, work for the Superior Court of California in San Francisco, and advance toward earning a Master’s degree.

The looming threat of deportation, and the possibility of being separated from my family, friends, and the community I’ve always known, carries an immense weight on my shoulders. The idea of being sent back to a country I’ve never truly lived in is terrifying. This fear forces my family to make deportation plans, preparing for the possibility of being ripped away from our loved ones. As I sat down with my mom to discuss what our next steps would be if I were deported, she hugged me tightly, crying and saying, “Si te llevan, hija, no sé qué voy a hacer sin ti. Ustedes son mi vida, mi corazón.” (If they take you, daughter, I have no idea what I would do without you, You all are my life, my heart.)

I’ve experienced first-hand the devastating impact deportation and family separation had on my family, composed of mixed status members; the physical and legal border that divides you, the intense pain of loss, and the overwhelming heartache of missing someone so deeply. In those moments, you rely on texting and calling to stay connected, clinging to any sense of togetherness. If you can begin to understand this pain, then you can begin to understand the intense fear we experience with the current Trump administration.

The fear is an invisible yet constant threat, always hanging over us, right in front of our faces, in our own neighborhoods.

For immigrants like me, this constant fear weighs heavily on our shoulders every single day, a fear we never asked for and that consistently blocks us from living freely with peace. Immigrants came to this country seeking a better life, a life free from violence and poverty. Yet, instead of finding refuge, we are met with hostility in a place that we call home.

Despite the climate of fear gripping the nation, especially within our mixed-status communities, resistance is not only alive—it’s growing louder. On San Jose’s East Side, a symbol of historical resistance from the Chicanx Civil Rights Movement and an area known for its Hispanic businesses and migrant workers, the San Jose Community Service Organization assembled a protest, “From LA to San Jose ICE out our communities,” in solidarity with the growing unrest in Los Angeles. This protest was not just about denouncing the militarized approach to immigration enforcement —it was a declaration: we will fight and organize our communities to ensure our loved ones are protected.

Throughout the protest, one chant reverberated again and again,”¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!” (The people united will never be defeated.) These words remind us that the fight for justice is not a given, it is a multi-lateral movement in which dedication is needed to fight against systemic oppression.

Captured by: Ari Leon Community Service Organization San Jose Protest 06/15/25

[If you would like to see more images captured at this protest you can look up @capturing.movements.aezl on Instagram! ]

The San Jose Community Service Organization, during the protest urged people to become more involved in this movement and one of the major ways is to demand the release of Ulises Pena Lopez. On February 21, 2025 Lopez was in his vehicle in the South Bay, when ICE agents arrived and detained him. Lopez invoked his rights to remain silent, to speak with a lawyer, and to not exit his vehicle without seeing a warrant. ICE officers ignored his constitutional rights and smashed his car window with a baton, dragged him out of his vehicle, and beat him in an alley.

Our movement is rooted in the belief that a better America is possible, one that celebrates its diverse cultures and honors its identity as a nation of immigrants. This movement will continue to grow as more people recognize and reject the inhumane and authoritarian policies of the Trump Administration.

We must call upon Representative Ro Khanna to visit Ulises at the Golden State Annex (GSA) Detention Center to assess his condition and advocate for his release from detention.

All Americans need to stand up to these injustices and protect people like Ulises Pena Lopez to foster a world of peace, security, and freedom for immigrants.

“¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!”