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NEW BEDFORD — The immigrant community in New Bedford woke up to election results that they saw as a “shock” and a “disaster.” But by the day’s end, advocates had already reignited emergency plans that could keep families together, protect New Bedford’s economy, and enshrine residents’ human rights.
“I was totally in shock when I woke up this morning,” said Helena DaSilva Hughes, director of the Immigrants’ Assistance Center (IAC). “I thought, there’s just no way we’re going back,” she said.
“We’ve lived through dark days before,” said Corinn Williams, executive director of New Bedford’s Community Economic Development Center. She cited the 2007 raid at the Michael Bianco plant in New Bedford that was one of the largest ICE operations in U.S. history, but added, “This community is resilient.”
The dread of deportations has only deepened in recent months, said DaSilva Hughes, fueled by Trump’s rhetoric and confirmed this morning by his national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, who stated on Fox News that the president would begin his term by “launching the largest mass deportation operation of illegal immigrants.”
Now, DaSilva Hughes believes the IAC finds itself once again needing to act decisively on behalf of the immigrant community. “I feel we have no choice but to start the emergency family preparedness program again,” she said.
In 2016, the center increased its capacity to support families facing deportation and launched an emergency preparedness program to help them plan for arrests by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. The program guided immigrant families in setting up a document safekeeping box and designating custodial guardians to care for their children until they could be reunited.
In the coming months, the IAC will again develop a plan to prepare the community for January, when President-elect Trump will officially begin his term. DaSilva Hughes intends to hold meetings with families at local churches and elementary schools — safe spaces where immigrant families can gather, share their concerns, and discuss the way forward.
Williams, of the Community Economic Development Center, said her work providing legal aid to immigrants will continue. She added that many community and immigrant groups will depend on protections from the state.
And on Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Maura Healey and Lieut. Gov. Kim Driscoll held a press conference to affirm their commitments: “We will always stand up for peoples rights and freedoms,” Healey said, “wherever you were born and whomever you love.”
Support for Trump includes Hispanic and Latino voters
The Community Economic Development Center sits in New Bedford’s Ward 2, within the former rectory beside the Our Lady of Perpetual Help church. The building buzzes constantly with multiple languages as new community members access services and make New Bedford their home.
“This neighborhood is the gateway of the gateway,” said Williams on Wednesday, referencing that many new arrivals make Ward 2 their home.
But Ward 2 voted for Trump, 51% to 49%, according to preliminary results. And the Hispanic and Latino community in Massachusetts increased their support for Trump — now reaching 42%, compared to 35% in 2020, according to exit polls from The Associated Press.
But Williams said those results are hard to parse — the Hispanic and Latino community is “not a monolith”, she said. Brian Pastori, the center’s deputy director, added, “The concept of ‘Hispanic’ is fraught to begin with. It basically means you speak Spanish and not much else.”
Pastori and Williams said that national origin, income and education levels, religious background, and language ability are totally different within the Hispanic and Latino community. Increasing support for Trump does not signify that his policies make sense for new immigrants in New Bedford.
And both Williams and Pastori said that Ward 2 has notoriously low turnout in elections and that high numbers of unregistered people, including undocumented immigrants, live there. In this election, Wards 2 and 6 had the lowest vote totals across New Bedford — and both are centers of the immigrant community. Williams said the victory for Trump in the ward doesn’t mean most people here support him, and that the area is still friendly to immigrants.
“The rectory we are in was built by Polish immigrants,” Williams said. “And the Portuguese and Cape Verdean communities built this neighborhood by buying homes and starting businesses. The next wave of immigrants will build this community as well.”
DaSilva Hughes said she wasn’t surprised, however, by the increasing support for Trump among Hispanic and Latino voters. Over the years, she said she has watched as Republican rhetoric pitted two groups — naturalized citizens and undocumented immigrants — against each other.
“I keep hearing from those who have a green card ‘we came here the right way and now everybody’s coming in and they are skipping the line,’” she said.
People don’t understand that times have changed, said DaSilva Hughes, whose father, a green card holder from Portugal, petitioned for his wife and seven children. “It took us a year and a half to come to the United States with a green card,” DaSilva Hughes recalled. “That doesn’t exist anymore. Now, it can take up to nine years.”
And as the community in New Bedford prepares for the next Trump term, the biggest threat may be the uncertainty. “We don’t know what Trump’s deportation campaign looks like, or the mechanism for distinguishing between people,” said Williams.
“It’s very worrisome,” she said.
Email Eleonora Bianchi at ebianchi@newbedfordlight.org and Colin Hogan at chogan@newbedfordlight.org
The immigrant community of New Bedford is justifiably on edge, given the inflammatory rhetoric of Donald Trump about “mass deportation” during the presidential campaign. I am glad that these mentioned community organizations are making plans to help those who may face rapid deportation orders, family separation, or other traumatic situations in a few months. This area of social policy is a complicated topic where appropriate decisions must be very nuanced and multifaceted. Taking the “sledgehammer” approach as encouraged by Trump could cause needless and inequitable suffering.
Individuals and the community at large should step forward and give a helping hand to those people of the important New Bedford immigrant community who deserve that help. Maybe these mentioned community organizations are a conduit for that individual and community assistance.
James, sorry but you are ignorant. No “sledge hammer” approach is going to happen. Trump & Vance already said it will be multi-faceted approach; the pedophiles, child & woman traffickers, drug traffickers, rapists, murderers & gang members will be extracted first. In the meantime, the rest should be figuring out how to get out on their own (there’s always Canada😁) and a legal path to citizenship. —- a son of legal immigrants
They BROKE the LAW coming into this country the way that they did. There ARE & should be consequences for breaking the law. They knew the consequences, THEY put themselves and their families in this situation and LEGAL immigrants’ tax dollars are supporting these people. Not okay. Legal citizens, especially those who’ve immigrated are rightfully angry and showed it at the ballot box. Illegals need to go home and work to make their own country better. The U.S. is the most giving country, but we need to help our own first and foremost! Neither our state nor US government should be fully supporting these families and individuals who have broken the law to enter here. We have our own veterans and elderly and young families we’d rather help, and should help instead. We are not heartless, we are law-abiding, hard working legal citizens of Massachusetts & the United States of America stop stealing from us, we have our own we are trying to care for. For the individuals who disagree with any of this logic, go ahead and support them all from your own pocket and self-proclaimed moral high-ground.
Well said. The one’s that voted t in now say they didn’t know this was going to happen. WTF, were the hell have they been. We the U.S. born and the legal citizens don’t deserve the wrath of t. He has many great ideas, but then he is making us all pa for the illegals. All we can do is hold our breath, wait for it to pass.
It’s clear that many immigrant communities have already faced significant challenges, especially under past administrations that enforced stricter immigration policies. The prospect of more severe measures, like increased deportations and barriers to legal status, understandably creates fear and distress among immigrants, particularly those who have built lives in the U.S. over many years.
The article highlights how the local immigrant community is shifting into survival mode, not only fearing potential deportations but also beginning to organize and seek legal advice in preparation for any changes. While this situation reflects the reality of many immigrant families, it also underscores the importance of proactive planning and advocacy. Immigrants are learning the significance of knowing their rights and finding legal support to navigate potential changes.
With the shifting political climate, it is crucial for immigrants to stay informed, understand their legal options, and consider community resources that can help them protect their status. Collaboration with advocacy groups and legal professionals is key to minimizing the impact of any unfavorable immigration policies.
Even if the number is 5,000, the apartments occupied by low wage earning illegal immigrants in New Bedford will be vacant for lifelong city residents, some who have paid, or continue to pay federal & state taxes in addition to Medicare & Social Security taxes that illegal immigrants pay, and let’s be honest here, Medicare & Social Security taxes aren’t voluntarily paid by illegal immigrants, those taxes are withheld by the companies who employ them because they have to pay matching withholdings for both, and if they weren’t mandated, illegal immigrants, and employers would never pay them voluntarily.
There are several other facts the immigration lawyer, and other advocates who work full time to assist the 1,500, 6,000, or 10,000 illegal immigrants, and mislead readers by stating “Immigrants” have been coming to New Bedford for over 200 years, and worked hard to make it one of the richest seaports in the world, and also one of the leading textile manufacturers in the Northeast from the 1890’s to the year NAFTA was signed signed into law, and most employers took those remaining garment, and other textile plants south to Mexico for cheap labor, and lower taxes, fewer benefits, and little to no regulations, but they don’t mention the fact that most, if not all those immigrants came to New Bedford, the Northeast, and throughout America LEGALLY, with my great grandparents, and millions more before and after them in 1907, on a boat for three weeks, and thru Ellis Island. They went to school until age 16 and went to work the help support their families before welfare benefit programs were created, and now wasted by many fraudulent lazy people, but they all learned to speak, read, and write in English while working hard for long hours to earn a living, and proudly became America Citizens who didn’t send 50% or more of their wages back to Europe to support others, and the European economy, they saved, bought homes, cars, and were grateful to enjoy a better life, and the opportunity to live the American Dream, and help their children continue that dream to live as well, or better. They suffered thru the great depression, survived, and appreciated everything even more, and worked more to later build America into the richest nation on earth. Many served in WWI fighting for Europe as Americans, and most of their healthy sons voluntarily enlisted, and served in every branch of the military to protect America, defend and liberate Europe, and defend America from the “Axis of Evil” in WWII, with so many of them wounded, and too many who died overseas.
There’s a very big difference between Immigrants, and illegal immigrants”, and for those immigration activists to omit the truth while assisting people to evade the law, and continue breaking the law while using tax payer dollars to do so are liars who should be ashamed of themselves, like the person who created the CCT in New Bedford who still doesn’t speak English after at least 15 years living in America.
Also, those Social Security, and Medicare withholdings won’t break New Bedford, MA, or America, the money they’re forced to pay to
Social Security & Medicare is much less than the free healthcare received, and costs of their 3-4 children from child birth costs to food, clothing, housing, and all school costs they pay zero taxes for while state & federal income taxes, and New Bedford property tax payers are forced to pay for to fund all medical needs, and the federal, state, and property taxes spent to educate their children with.
When they are deported, the jobs will be filled by legal residents who will be paid higher wages for the same work, and if the fishing industry can’t make it while paying higher wages, and higher matching funds for Social Security & Medicare taxes, they’re doing something wrong with the hundreds of millions of dollars they rave about each year, but now cry poverty when other legal residents worked in that industry for as long as it’s operated, but lower profit margins.
My heart goes out to the immigrants but what about the People who lived here for years are still trying to get housing? Who worked and paid their taxes for years!! I for one have been on a waiting list for 3 years now!! Something has to give here ?
Well said. The one’s that voted t in now say they didn’t know this was going to happen. WTF, were the hell have they been. We the U.S. born and the legal citizens don’t deserve the wrath of t. He has many great ideas, but then he is making us all pa for the illegals. All we can do is hold our breath, wait for it to pass.