In the wake of uncertainty for immigrants in the US, The Melrose-based Mexican Coalition and educators from CUNY, New York University and Columbia met government officials from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua – countries whose citizens represent large populations of undocumented people in the US – at a two-day summit in Puebla, Mexico in February.
On the agenda: how to provide social services and reintegration for people deported from the U.S. and how to preserve educational opportunities for students who began their education in the U.S. and face deportation under President Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies.
The summit, Cumbre Migratoria, was hosted by the government of the Mexican state of Puebla, the Poblano Migrant Assistance Institute (IPAM), and The Mexican Coalition, a nonprofit based at Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church in Melrose. Fear of deportation is running through the immigrant communities of the South Bronx.
“There’s a lot more in the air. This time it’s different,” said Jairo Guzman, The Mexican Coalition’s director. “I think during the first Trump administration, although there was a lot of conversation about deportations, it didn’t feel that a lot was going to happen, but this time it does,” Guzman said.
Founded in 2013 to assist what was then a rapidly growing population of Mexican migrants, the Coalition has for 15 years connected migrants with legal services, hosted ESL classes and workshops on healthcare. Run by Mexican immigrants and close to many in the community, the Coalition is aware of how vulnerable its members feel. For Guzman, the summit was necessary during a time of intense uncertainty for migrant communities.
At the conference government officials joined experts on immigration, staff from City College, Hunter College, New York University, Columbia University, Guatemala’s Rafael Landívar University, and several Mexican academic institutions. The summit focused on ways to expand employment, housing, and educational opportunities for people who return from the U.S., either willingly or because of deportation as well as those who left their homes but are unable to cross into the U.S.
Echoing President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, Alejandro Armenta, the governor of Puebla, had an encouraging message for returning Mexicans citizens.
“The truth is our migrant brethren who are deported are women and men of a higher level – a higher level of productivity. And the truth is the ones who are losing immense Poblano and Mexican talent are them [the United States],” Armenta said during the event. “We say this with respect because we are part of an economy that understands the connections we have with the United States and Canada.”
The Mexican government has implemented programs for Mexican citizens deported from the US, including jobs through Coparmex, an employer’s association with 36,000 member companies. According to Armenta, there are more than 3,000 jobs for undocumented people who return to Mexico.
Summit attendees also discussed ways for DACA recipients to continue their studies if they return to their countries of origin. Academic scholarships to Mexican academic institutions for students continuing their education are currently being awarded in Mexico, Armenta announced. María Josefina Saldaña-Portillo, a professor at New York University announced a new collaboration between U.S. universities and those in Puebla and the Mexican state of Guanajuato.
The collaboration would ensure deported students are integrated into Mexican institutions and Mexican students interested in studying in the US could have an opportunity here.
“The idea of joining with a number of other NY based academic institutions to share insights and plans, and potentially to coordinate them with friends in Mexico, was important to me,” City College president Vincent Boudreau wrote in an emailed statement. “It also seems important to think about the ways in which we can assure our students from outside the country that they are valuable members of our community and we are trying to find ways of supporting them.”
Attendees also discussed the needs of migrant communities living in the US. Dr. Julia Lechuga, a health psychologist and professor at Hunter College, described the negative health impacts that can be triggered by migrating to another country. Immigrants, for instance, may not access healthcare because they fear deportation or being seen as a “burden to the country” if they’re petitioning for a change in immigration status, according to Lechuga. It’s important for home countries to seek the input of returning migrants, she said.
“Governments can do a lot, especially if they integrate communities in the decision making because nobody knows better what they need than communities themselves,” she said, recommending that government officials who attended the Cumbre Migratoria summit build community-based coalitions to help improve the health of their returning citizens.
In New York City, during the first week of raids carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies, over 100 people including Bronx residents were detained, THE CITY reported. The Department of Homeland Security released a statement on Jan. 28 specifying the “target of this operation was violent criminals.” The press release did not include the location of those detained, their alleged crimes or their identities.
Cumbre Migratoria came in the wake of these raids, and the growing fear of deportation among undocumented people and their mixed status families. A looming public health risk could eventually become a crisis, Guzman said, with undocumented parents being afraid to take their American-born children to doctors appointment, or their children being bullied at school and told their parents would be deported. On the brighter side, children of undocumented immigrants who are old enough to vote are becoming more politically active.
“As a nonprofit, we can’t tell anyone for whom to vote for or not, but I’m happy that I’m hearing more young adults who are US born, who were not engaged in voting, are now saying, ‘We’re going to vote and we’re going to vote against those who are persecuting our parents,’” said Guzman.
Father Frank Skelly, a Mott Haven native who has been priest of Immaculate Conception for 20 years, has been speaking to worried undocumented parishioners. On the parish’s bulletin boards, flyers advising undocumented people of their rights are on display. While even under the first Trump administration ICE or Customs and Border Protection officers had official guidance not to enter “sensitive” locations, such as places of worship and schools, those areas are no longer off limits.
“It just was understood that they wouldn’t raid us. And people would ask, we said, ‘No, they’re not gonna raid the church.’” Skelly said. “Now they do. I mean we are reshuffling the deck, figuring out what to do.”
At the summit, a pact was made between civil organizations including the Mexican Coalition and IPAM, the Puebla government and other Mexican officials from different regions. The NY-based educators and the government of Puebla officials, including Governor Armenta, will plan the smooth transition between New York and Mexican institutions for students who are deported from the US, self-deport themselves, or are Mexicans interested in studying in America. They will then sign a binding memorandum of understanding to ensure the plans come into fruition.
Meanwhile, as the Trump administration freezes spending, the Mexican Coalition and other nonprofits are worried about federal funding they use to serve immigrant communities. City agencies may also be impacted. The Department of Youth and Community Development receives approximately $2.7 million in federal funding for services for immigrant families, according to data published by NYC’s Comptroller Office.
“I think [non-government agencies] need to come together and say we’re afraid, but we need to continue to work,” Guzman said, calling on philanthropists to help nonprofits. “We need to continue to keep the fabric of our communities strong and as much as possible, safe.”
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