Lucia flips through immigration papers she keeps in a large pink folder at her home in New Bedford. She’s from the Azores originally and has lived in the U.S. with her husband and two children for about 12 years.
The walls of her home are lined with family photos and potted plants with little Portuguese flags stand by the entrance. At the center of her living room, a large ceramic statue of the saint Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres watches over Lucia, cloaked in green robes.
For years, her life in the U.S. has been comfortable. She and her husband own their own businesses, and their kids are in the local school system.
“We fell in love with this country,” Lucia said. “I never felt scared here. I never felt that I was a target to no one.”
But Lucia said she no longer feels secure in the U.S. She sees the news about ICE raids across the country and here in New Bedford. It hits home because Lucia doesn’t have legal status to live in the U.S. That’s why The Public’s Radio is not using her full name.
“If they deport me, you know, I’m going to lose everything that I worked hard to build here; they won’t let me take anything with me,” Lucia said.
Lucia came to the U.S. for economic opportunities and a better education for her children. The family arrived on 90-day tourist visas. Now that she’s overstayed her visa for years, there isn’t a clear way for her to apply for citizenship. And her children don’t benefit from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, because they came to the U.S. after 2012.
Lucia said she is scared of ending up detained in a cell and separated from her family. So her family is looking into leaving the country proactively before the Trump administration forces them to. But, Lucia says, it’s a hard decision to sell their home, their businesses, and leave their lives in the U.S. behind to return somewhere that, she feels, doesn’t have much for them.
“There’s nothing left for us there (in Portugal), even for my kids. No,” Lucia said.” “It’s a big step. We have so many things. We have a life of 12 years. You cannot put 12 years in a bag and pack and go.”
Immigrant advocates in the region say that Ecuadoran and Brazilian immigrants are also considering self-deportation. But Helena DaSilva Hughes, president of the Immigrants’ Assistance Center in New Bedford, said most of the calls she’s getting are from Azorean immigrants.
DaSilva Hughes said there are at least 1,000 Portuguese families in Bristol County where at least some of the family members have overstayed on tourist visas. She said this includes people who have since started families, established businesses or are homeowners now.
“The ones who are basically trying to sell their house or they have small businesses. They’re trying to cash out so they can go back to Portugal,” DaSilva Hughes said.
One out of every five residents in New Bedford is foreign-born. And 31% of the city’s residents identify as Portuguese. DaSilva Hughes said it’s easier and safer for Portuguese immigrants to return home than for people who made dangerous journeys from Central American countries. She said the biggest challenge will likely be integrating American-born children into the Portuguese school system. DaSilva Hughes said she understands why parents are willing to make the tough decision to uproot their families.
“I have never in my life seen what this country is going through presently with this new administration,” DaSilva Hughes said. “I agree with them. I think it’s better for them to go back than for them to get picked up by immigration.”
Lucia said she still has a lot she needs to figure out before she leaves, like what to do with their house in New Bedford, selling their cars, and finding a way to transport their little dog to the Azores.
“My heart is shattered. I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to go back. Every time that I think about it my anxiety flows. I have nightmares. I have anxiety attacks, panic attacks,” Lucia said. “I try to separate things, to start packing, and I can’t, I can’t, I can’t. I just have to stop.”
If Lucia’s family leaves, they won’t be able to re-enter the U.S. for at least 10 years. Lucia said regardless of what happens next and where her family ultimately ends up, she’s proud of the life she was able to build in the U.S.
