Her husband was arrested by immigration agents. Now a DeKalb mom relies on prayer
It didn’t take long for Kenia Velásquez to feel the impact of President Donald Trump’s promised immigration crackdown.
Less than a week into the start of the second Trump presidency, immigration agents arrested Velásquez’s husband, Wilson, a tire shop employee in DeKalb County.
Wilson Velásquez has been held since then at the Stewart Detention Center in South Georgia, a large immigrant prison where the population has surged. He is facing deportation.
The last three months have been difficult, and Kenia Velásquez often has tears in her eyes as she cares for their three children, ages 7, 9 and 13. The family illegally crossed the southern border together three years ago to escape violence in their native Honduras.
Kenia Velásquez has continued going to church every Sunday in Tucker, where the congregation has raised money to support the family. Federal agents took Wilson Velásquez into custody outside of the church in January during Sunday services.
Pastor Luis Ortiz, an immigrant in the country without legal permission, said Kenia Velásquez’s attendance gives strength to other parishioners. Several Atlanta-area pastors with majority-immigrant congregations say Wilson’s arrest has created a chilling effect, driving down attendance at services.
Approximately 1,500 immigrants have been arrested in Georgia from late January through early April, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The fear and uncertainty has led some Georgia immigrants to return home of their own accord.
Georgians react
To gauge the effects of the administration’s first 100 days, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution spoke with residents who have lived with the results. Amid a blitz of executive orders, tariffs, lawsuits, layoffs and funding cuts, they’re exhausted, thrilled, scared, hopeful. Here are their stories:
An Emory research study on Alzheimer’s comes to abrupt halt
Shrimp boat owner hopes tariffs will revive local fishermen
From hopeful foster mom to unemployed CDC worker
Pardoned Jan. 6 defendant wants Democrats punished
Her husband was arrested by immigration agents
DEI rollbacks threaten Atlanta woman’s work
Tariff ‘gloom and doom’ for Atlanta wine seller
Atlanta entrepreneur steers clients through trade war
AJC poll: Trump’s support sinks in Georgia as economic fears rise
Kenia said life in the U.S. under Trump is still preferable to gang violence in Honduras.
“The problem is that the gangs ask you for money. And people like us, with low incomes, we have no way of paying them. And what the gangsters do then is they go and they kill you,” she said.
More coverage of Trump’s effects on Georgia
The first 100 days: Georgians are scared, thrilled about changes
CDC cuts factor into Georgia Senate race
More logging in Georgia’s national forests? It’s possible under a new directive
After layoffs, federal employees navigate uncertain job market
Afraid of church: Some immigrant faithful stay away on Sunday
Georgia protests show growing resistance against Trump administration
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