The morning after the presidential election, Gyla González, a community leader in Carrollton, woke up worried and sad about the results, considering what they could mean for the immigrant community.
In the midst of her sorrow, González received a call from Amy Velásquez, an immigration lawyer, who had one simple question: “What are we going to do to help the community?”
As a result of that conversation, in less than two days a community forum emerged, with the goal of responding to Hispanic families’ questions about what Trump’s election could mean for them and what they should do.
Thanks to marketing efforts via social media, a total of 73 adults and 27 children attended the event, which took place in The Burson Center.
Among the topics discussed was how to speak to children about what could happen to families during the Trump Administration.
“Is it true that my mommy and daddy are going to be deported?” a parent said her child asked.
“Starting now we can begin doing things, such as having our birth certificates translated, so that if something happens to us we know which steps to take, we know what we are going to do with our children,” said González. “We have to let our children know, not all of what is going on, but we should explain to them, ‘Don’t worry, we have a plan.’”
Mark Albertus, superintendent of Carrollton City Schools, came to express his support for Hispanic students and their parents.
“We have an extensive Hispanic population in our school district, and we value them in our schools and communities, and it concerns us that our Latino children are afraid and anxious as a result of the election,” explained Albertus, in an interview with MundoHispánico.
“We will not tolerate any of our children being harassed or called names, and we want to communicate to parents that they should encourage their children to speak with us if anyone mistreats them in any way,” he added.
During the event, in which Velásquez took the time to explain the limits of power of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, attendees lined up to ask the lawyer a series of questions.
Also on hand at the presentation were a number of volunteers, who cared for and entertained the children whose parents were in attendance.
After the event, several participants breathed sighs of relief and stated that they felt more at ease as a result of the information they had received, adding that the previous week had been difficult.
Among them was José Martínez, whose children – ages 14, 9 and 6 – asked him what would happen to them after Trump’s victory.
“I had that doubt, because I have children who were born here, but I didn’t know as a parent what could happen, but thank God I think that everything is clearer now, because he [Trump] can’t do anything by himself,” said Martínez.
“I feel better now, when the election happened we panicked. My concern is really because a lot of us have children here and Mr. Trump said that he was going to send everyone back and that he was going to strip the citizenship of the children who were born here,” explained Rocío Nava, a woman from Mexico with two children.
CONTINUED COVERAGE
Each Saturday look for a feature story from our media partners at Mundo Hispanico that highlights an aspect of the Hispanic community. For a closer look at its content, go to www.mundohispanico.com or contact editors and reporters directly at 404-881-0441.
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