TAMPA, Fla. — Fear is rippling through immigrant communities across Tampa Bay as federal deportation efforts intensify, leaving many undocumented families living in the shadows and afraid to seek help.
For some, the fear is paralyzing. For others, it's a call to action.
"We've already experienced losses in funding because of who we are as an organization, who we serve, and what we do," said Elizabeth Gutierrez, founder and CEO of Enterprising Latinas, a nonprofit based in Wimauma that provides workforce training, small business support, and digital access to more than 2,500 people each year. "Fear is definitely an issue, but action is more powerful. I belong here as well as anybody else, and I contribute to this country."
WATCH: Fear and uncertainty grip Tampa Bay's immigrant communities amid rising deportations
Gutierrez said the tension has grown worse since stepped-up immigration enforcement began affecting families that once felt secure.
"It saddens me that at this stage in the game, we're having an old conversation about whether or not immigrants bring value to this nation," she said. "I'm hoping and praying that we can get beyond that."
"Action is more Powerful" in Wimauma
Enterprising Latinas has helped hundreds of low-income families access free internet and job resources, but Gutierrez says some have recently stopped showing up.
"Now, we're seeing families go underground — in hiding — missing out on resources," she said. "There's a lot of misinformation, a lot of misunderstanding about who we are and whether or not we belong."
According to census data, Gutierrez said, most Wimauma residents are U.S. citizens. Only about 15% are not. Yet, the perception that immigrants in her community are largely undocumented persists — and so does racial profiling, she said.
"It's frustrating because we know our contributions are real," Gutierrez said. "We know we're part of this community's success. Fear is definitely an issue, but action is more powerful, and so just like me, there are so many others that are standing strong and saying, 'I belong here as well as anybody else, and I contribute to this country, and I deserve to be a beneficiary of what we create in this country.'"
"Every Day, I'm Afraid of Not Coming Home"
For one Tampa Bay mother, who asked not to be identified for fear of arrest, the fear is deeply personal. She is undocumented but has lived in the United States for years, raising American-born children. She told Tampa Bay 28 that she rarely leaves home.
"Every day, just going out there, getting caught, and not seeing my kids anymore," she said in Spanish. "We're not all bad people. I pay my taxes every year, like everybody else."
She says her children — all U.S. citizens — are growing up too fast, forced to shoulder adult responsibilities in case she doesn't come home one day.
"I always tell them, if one day I don't come back, stay on the right path, stay in school, and support each other," she said. "Because if my American dream ends, theirs shouldn't."
A "Deportation Machine"
Immigration attorney Emel Ersan, who has practiced law for more than 30 years, said her clients are living in what she calls "a deportation machine."
"If you're applying for any kind of immigration relief, like a green card, and it doesn't go through for a technical error — something as small as checking the wrong box or missing a number — it gets denied, and then you get put in deportation," Ersan said.
She said enforcement has expanded beyond violent offenders or recent arrivals. Longtime residents with decades-old deportation orders are being detained.
"I had an Albanian client — 65 years old — who had a deportation from 30 years ago," Ersan recalled. "She applied for a green card through her daughter, and within a week, ICE picked her up. They told me, 'She applied for something, and we saw the old order, so we went and got her.'"
Ersan said the process has become unforgiving. "You have absolutely no power," she said. "Once there's a deportation order, there are no procedural rights left. They can just grab you and take you. You don't even have the right to a lawyer or a hearing."
In some cases, she said, detainees wait years in immigration detention facilities before their cases are heard.
Caught in the Crossfire of Policy and Politics
Ersan argues that the current crisis stems from years of inaction. "Trump hasn't changed any of the laws," she said. "Congress hasn't enacted any new laws. They're just implementing what previous administrations refused to enforce."
That inconsistency, she added, left many immigrants with false hope. "They came here with all these expectations — asylum, work permits, possible legalization — but it turns out it was built on a house of cards," Ersan said. "Asylum is hard to win. It's very difficult to win asylum."
The uncertainty has left nonprofits like Enterprising Latinas balancing advocacy with fear of backlash.
Gutierrez said her organization lost funding in recent years simply because of who it serves.
Still, she remains hopeful. "There are so many others standing strong and saying, 'I belong here,'" she said. "We contribute to this country. We deserve to benefit from what we help create."
Families Living in Fear, Yet Holding Onto Hope
For the undocumented mother in Tampa, every moment with her children feels borrowed. She says she reminds them daily to stay strong and keep believing in their future.
"You have to be strong for the kids," she said. "I always tell them, don't look back. Stay in school. Support each other."
Her dream, she says, is simple: to see her children succeed — to live the life she came here to build.
"I want to be here for their American dream," she said.
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