'Immigration Crackdown' on ABC: Philadelphia children worry about raids
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- In the day-long programming special "Immigration Crackdown," ABC News is on the ground across the country reporting on the issue of immigration.
All day, our reporters are fanning out across the country on the frontlines of sweeping immigration changes, documenting it in real time across the country. This includes Philadelphia, where the new policies are impacting not just communities but the children in those communities.
Action News spoke with two kids whose lives are being impacted by new immigration policies crackdowns.
One of those kids is 7-year-old David, the youngest of a family of five living in Philadelphia.
"It's like a lot of good stuff that's happening in my life," said the first grader as he sat at home.
His 10-year-old sister, Yeraliz, has all of the typical joys and inconveniences of a big sister.
"He can sometimes be annoying," she said with a smirk while speaking of her little brother.
An "annoying" little brother, though, is actually the least of her worries right now. Yeraliz lives with the fear that her parents will be deported.
"They could just randomly take them away. They could just grab them," she said of immigration officials who she worries could come into contact with her parents. David lives with that same fear.
"I wouldn't know what to do without them," he said.
David and Yeraliz's parents are in the country without permanent legal status. They came to the United States 24 years ago from Guatemala.
"Here it's a more better life," said their mom, whose name we're not using. She has a work authorization and has started the process of obtaining permanent residence.
"I'm waiting for my green card," she said.
As she waits, she worries after seeing ICE raids like one carried out in January at a carwash in Hunting Park. Seven people were taken into ICE custody.
"When you go out of your house for work, you are scared," the mom said.
"If ICE knocks on the door, we don't want them to take our families away from us," said Yearaliz.
She's afraid they'd all be separated because the children and their oldest sibling were all born in the U.S. and are, therefore, U.S. citizens.
"I feel sad because I don't want (my mom and dad) to be separated from me," said Yeraliz.
She and David are part of a much larger group: kids who were born in the U.S. but living with parents who entered the country illegally. Our 6abc Data Team found that across the country, there are 4.4 million kids just like them.
"I worry about if they're going to take them back," said David.
Yeraliz says her friends often talk about ICE raids, which they fear could happen at any time.
"They be like, 'Oh I don't want them to take away my parents,'" she said.
"My heart is getting... it's getting broken because I feel so bad for them," said David. "And I really just want them to stay in the country that they want to be."
"When I see my kids sad, I feel so bad," said David and Yeraliz's mother.
Her children's sadness, though, is just a fact of life lately as little kids worry about the "big issue" of immigration.
"It makes me sad because we're just children and we can't do anything about it because we're just children," she said.
Teen's concerns for mother seeking asylum
Spend just a few minutes with 17-year-old Jeymi and it's clear two things are very important to her: her family and her faith.
"I feel like God has helped me and healed me from a lot of things that I went through," said Jeymi.
She's convinced it's how she's survived some difficult times, including an unimaginable journey traveling from her homeland of Guatemala to the U.S. by herself.
Jeymi was just 10 years old when she made the trip, escaping violence in Guatemala to get to Philadelphia. Her parents entered the country illegally so they could work and send back money to the family.
When Jeymi heard that a woman in her neighborhood would be trying to get to the U.S., she tagged along not really knowing anyone.
Her seven-day journey was filled with moments that were both scary and surreal, especially when she got to the border in Texas.
After staying in an immigration camp for children, it took months to get to her parents in Philadelphia and years to gain asylum.
"I was so happy. God really granted me an opportunity to have a better future," she said.
Her parents are now seeking asylum but it comes during a wave of new immigration crackdowns.
"With everything that's going on it's like are we gonna get our asylum or no?" asked Jeymi.
Her siblings were born in the U.S. and therefore are American citizens. But they fear for her parents as they see incidents like the ICE raid in Hunting Park.
That's where Jeymi's faith comes into play. She's confident that her family's journey will end the way it's supposed to.
These stories are just some that are being told across the country in the ABC project "Immigration Crackdown." It continues Wednesday on a special edition of Nightline.
