‘Dreamer’ families fearful as Trump signs executive order

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday limiting the number of refugees allowed into the U.S.

This order comes just two days after the president signed a set of executive orders on immigration, including cracking down on sanctuary cities and deporting undocumented immigrants.

Families living in Central Oregon are asking if they’re going to be deported. There is only one word to describe what these families are feeling, and that is fear — fear they will be ripped apart from this community they call home.

Some states, including Oregon, are standing up to the White House.

“Oregon is a sanctuary state,” Bend Mayor Pro Tem Sally Russell said. “It provides all of the protection and due process, which is about safety and respect for everybody in the state of Oregon.”

Russell said the city has followed the state law and has those major protections in place.

Latino families, some with undocumented family members, packed St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Bend Thursday evening to hear about the possible changes to immigration laws and policy.

“Our people are scared and concerned,” said Latino activist Greg Delgado. “There is so much going on so fast and we just want to make sure we calm the hysteria and show that we’re here as a community united to support one another.”

Some families worry their hard work toward becoming U.S. citizens could simply vanish.

Antonia Hidalgo is a single mother raising her 5-year-old son in Bend, and she is scared that the Trump administration might remove the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an executive order issued by the Obama administration in 2012, sometimes refered to as the “DREAM Act,” and those affected as “DREAMers.”

Hidalgo came to this country at a young age and calls Oregon home.

“It’s a strong situation, it’s a strong issue,” she said.

“Living in fear whether or not I will see my son or my parents; it’s very emotional to me,” Hidalgo added.

The Bend Police Department doesn’t enforce immigration laws because of state law.

The department has a policy that protects immigrants from being stopped or detained based on their citizenship.

“We cannot have any group being fearful of reporting crime and victimization,” Police Chief Jim Porter said.

Porter said sometimes, undocumented immigrants who are victims of domestic violence will not report crimes to police, for fear of the suspect or the victim themselves being taken into custody based on their resident status.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

401.2 POLICY Best Practice The Bend Police Department is committed to providing law enforcement services to the community with due regard for the racial, cultural or other differences of those served. It is the policy of this department to provide law enforcement services and to enforce the law equally, fairly and without discrimination toward any individual or group. The department will investigate all complaints alleging racial or bias-based profiling that are received by any means, whether or not they are made in person, in writing signed by the complainant and delivered by hand, postal mail, facsimile or electronic mail, by telephone, anonymously or by third party. Race, color, ethnicity or nationality, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, economic status, homelessness, age, cultural group, disability, political affiliation or affiliation with any other similar identifiable group shall not be used as the basis for providing differing levels of law enforcement service or the enforcement of the law.