East End Immigrant Advocates Brace for Trump Deportation Plan

Immigrants on the East End should prepare for President-elect Donald Trump to follow through on his threat of mass deportations after taking office Jan. 20, a local advocacy group warned.

Minerva Perez, executive director of OLA of Eastern Long Island — a nonprofit that advocates for the rights of Hispanic immigrants in the Hamptons and on the North Fork — issued the warning in an open letter to the community on Dec. 2.

“I refuse to mince words when political shifts will upend the peaceful, local community we serve by stripping basic protections, isolating our most vulnerable families, and threatening immigrants and citizens alike with hate and fear-based policies that serve only to disrupt our vibrant and productive community,” she wrote.

Trump has said he would declare a national emergency to carry out mass deportations of immigrants living in the U.S. without documentation. Perez noted that during Trump’s first term four years ago, OLA held defensive workshops explaining how immigrants facing deportation can give their neighbor, or the only U.S. citizen they know, temporary custody of a child in the event of being detained without notice.

“No one should have to live in this kind of fear,” she wrote. “In this era of extreme division, what we have witnessed and have learned is how important it is to be prepared for the unexpected — and how important it is to stand up for protection and justice.”

Services the group provides include legal assistance for immigrant families facing deportation, youth-related immigration services, advocacy for those who have worked for fair wages and are left unpaid, transportation and translation services, elder services in Spanish, mental health support, and support for crime victims.

Her missive included a call to action.

“The good news is that we are organized and fortified – but we need brave allies as we begin to navigate what comes next,” she wrote. “This is not a call for money. It’s a call for solidarity. It is a call to put our compassion above our politics.”