Just a couple of days after the election, the usually busting Mexican Consulate office in northwest Dallas – often with a line outside the door – seems quiet. Outside, a few people sit on benches, waiting for their appointments or their ride home.
They're here for different reasons – consular services such as visas, passports, permission to travel to Mexico.
One woman sitting outside with her toddler told KERA she and other undocumented immigrants are scared of what could happen under a second Trump administration. The president-elect made mass deportations a focus of his campaign and promised “the largest deportation program in American history" as soon as he takes office.
“During Trump’s candidacy, he was always attacking us, all the Mexicans,” said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous. “So, one lives with that fear that there’s going to be more deportations."
Cristina Salazar is an immigration attorney who works for a nonprofit in Collin County that helps one of the most vulnerable group of immigrants – women who have suffered from domestic violence. In recent days, she has seen an increase in fear among her clients.
“I've been getting some of the emails and calls from some of our clients. And yes, we are changing our procedures to kind of work things faster,” she said. “And there are people who are inquiring, ‘Has it been sent?’ And that's kind of normal in this type of atmosphere. But the sense of urgency is definitely there now.”
Many of her clients receive U visas for victims of physical or mental abuse who cooperate with law enforcement. Others seek protection under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which allows allows for a lawful pathway to citizenship for victims of domestic abuse.
Salazar said doesn’t believe either law would change right away as it would take an act of Congress, but she and others in her field are still preparing for the worst-case scenario.
Although Salazar’s clients might have some protections, she said she doesn’t want to give them false hope.
“I know we're going to have a lot of things to fight against,” she said. “And I know that we can't give the administration the benefit of the doubt.”
Salazar said Project 2025 – a presidential blueprint that Trump has distanced himself from but that was helmed by two former Trump administration officials — calls for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to stop accepting applications for backlogged processes including VAWA, U visas and other applications such as family petitions.
“I tell my clients that I’m submitting their applications, but that the law could change at any time,” Salazar said. “And that's why now ... our workflow is going to be different because we want to submit everything as soon as possible, definitely before inauguration.”
There’s also concerns, Salazar said, that Trump will revoke some migrants’ Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, which allows people from certain countries — including Haiti, El Salvador, Venezuela and Lebanon — to live and work in the U.S if it's unsafe for them to return home.
He tried to terminate TPS for several countries during his first administration, but the effort was held up in court and the Biden administration later extended some protections.
“Each president gets to decide whether or not to extend that,” Salazar said. “And so, we're thinking that's one of the programs that Trump is going to try to do or just not renew the status.”
Faisal Al-Juburi is the chief external affairs officer of the Texas nonprofit RAICES, which processes thousands of immigration, asylum and refugee cases each year. They have offices statewide, including Dallas.
Like Salazar, Al-Juburi said Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric has caused concern among clients. He said the threats are specifically to asylum, which he called a human right. But, he said, the fear isn’t unique to the Trump administration.
“The reality is that under this current administration, under the Biden administration, we have also been experiencing some real threats to immigration in America,” he said.
Still, RAICES is already warning the incoming Trump administration of the “devastating consequences” of its proposed immigration policies. In a statement posted to its website after the election, RAICES said it “is ready to challenge any presidential actions that threaten equitable access to the legal and human right to seek safety in the U.S.”
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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