Houston immigrants share concerns over president-elect Trump's promised deportations

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Now that Donald Trump has been elected, many immigrants are waiting to see what his second term will mean for them.

President-elect Trump has promised mass deportations, speaking broadly about workplace raids and invoking the National Guard.

For some immigrants, both here legally and illegally, it's a confusing time.

Marisol Elias is a mother of five, and all her children were born in Houston. Her oldest two just started college.

But Marisol was born in Mexico and her parents brought her here illegally when she was ten.

"You get very anxious and start thinking about all this stuff. Like what happens if I have to go? I have to take my kids. I will have to leave them here," she said. "So, it gets really bad."

Just like more than 500,000 others, Marisol is in the United States legally under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

President Trump's administration tried to end DACA protections during his first term, but the Supreme Court stopped him.

In his second term, he's promising deportations.

Guillermo Covo came to Houston nine months ago.

"His plan was to enter the United States legally, which he did, and then to work here and to build and grow, but he also had a plan to be able to renew," Covo said through a translator.

Guillermo moved here from Venezuela on what's called humanitarian parole, a Biden administration program that gives two-year work visas to people from countries considered dangerous.

Recipients must pass background checks and have financial sponsors here in the United States.

The program hasn't been renewed and president-elect Trump has vowed to end it, deporting those who are part of it.

"He feels like he's in a limbo because he feels like what happens when these two years are over, 'What's going to happen with me?' He's not really sure," Covo's translator said.

Immigration attorney Raed Gonzalez is reminding all of his clients that deportations would require court proceedings.

"I'm telling people to calm down. This is half-baked. We don't know exactly what's going to happen," Gonzalez said. "If you're a criminal, you should be worried at this point, but everybody else needs to get ready."

He says those here illegally or under specialized VISAs should start gathering documents now.

"Proof that you've been paying taxes is a really good thing. A judge really appreciates that you've been living here, but you're also paying for your stay here in the United States," he said. "And all the documents from your family, all the birth certificates, your passports."

"I'm just hoping that he takes into consideration that we have given our lives for this country. I have paid for my taxes. I also graduated here," Elias said. "I know he thinks there's a lot of bad people out there, but there are also a lot of good people. We are here to work and make this country a better country also."

"He's never been in front of a judge, and he's never been detained or anything with anyone that's actually a criminal so it's something he would not like to face," Covo's translator said.