Jose Portillo, an Othello business owner, looks up at a photo of former President Barack Obama near his desk.
“I hope to see a picture of Kamala Harris here soon,” said Portillo, who has already mailed his ballot.
Mr. Portillo, the longtime owner of El Corriman, provides services for many H-2A workers, undocumented family members and farm workers to send money back to their families in their home countries.
But with the election just two weeks away, he’s concerned that former President Donald Trump’s re-election could affect the future of his business and the Othello community.
“This is a town of immigrants,” Portillo said in Spanish. “As business owners, it affects us.”
Photo credit: Monica Carrillo Casas
Farm workers were seen in the Royal City on Thursday, October 24, passing back and forth crates filled with apples that other workers had harvested for the day.
Washington State has a population of 246,000 undocumented immigrants, many of whom hold senior positions throughout the state.
But since seeking re-election to the White House, President Trump has assembled a “deportation force” that includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, and has promised to carry out “the largest deportation in our nation’s history.”
President Trump has been vague about how such operations would work, but those around him believe that the second Trump administration has become more aggressive in deporting people, and that nearly 77% of the population is living in an Othello-like The study suggests that this could have an impact on farmers and businesses in large communities. Hispanics and others from all over Washington state.
Jake Mendez Jr., a local Othello activist and member of the ACLU of Washington, has been advocating for the Hispanic community since the early 2000s, often challenging local projects and feeling unrepresented. He acts as a spokesperson for the people.
He also expressed his thoughts on the impact of potential mass deportations on the small, rural town, but said he didn’t want to think too far ahead on the issue since Trump hasn’t been reelected yet. .
“If you don’t have jobs, you don’t have an economy. If you don’t have an economy, you don’t have businesses. So who’s going to take those jobs? Take a look. The Hispanic/Latino community is the majority,” he said. I did.
Just 30 minutes from Othello, Royal City has a population of 2,060 people, 94% of whom are Hispanic and 35% of whom work in the fields.
Silverio Hernandez, a foreman at Washington Fruit and Produce Co. in Royal City and a former Othello resident, said both towns are home to a diverse population of undocumented workers, H-2A workers and U.S. citizens. He said he was there.
If large-scale deportations were to take place, there would be clear implications for both countries, particularly on the outcome of farms, he said.
“We’re already in trouble because of overtime laws that have hurt the economy. Now imagine there’s a mass deportation. Everyone will go out of business,” Hernandez said. “I’ve always said this is a land built by immigrants.”
He further emphasized that although many of the employees are in the H-2A program, it is not always clear whether they are in the country illegally.
“We don’t know if they are or not. We’re not law enforcement. That’s not our job and God forbid we ask them,” Hernandez said.
Chris Loftis, a spokesman for the Washington State Patrol, said the agency’s policies and state law updated by Congress in 2019 state that its officers do not have primary jurisdiction over federal immigration law and cannot enter the country without authorization. Since it is a civil matter, it is stipulated as follows. An individual’s immigration status alone does not make them subject to state law enforcement.
Washington state law also prohibits sharing information about someone’s immigration status unless it is directly related to a criminal investigation under state or local law.
“The Washington State Patrol enforces our state’s laws with respect, dignity and diligence,” Loftis said in a statement. “Our policies regarding the enforcement of immigration law are clear and unambiguous and are based on state law designed to ensure that the rights and dignity of all people are protected. Congress asserted that enforcing immigration laws is not the purpose of Washington state law enforcement, and took steps to restrict law enforcement from taking any enforcement actions based solely on a person’s immigration status or employment.
Jose Ramirez, owner of El Paraiso Orchards in Royal City, is also keeping an eye on the presidential election.
He said all of Trump’s plans for mass deportations are “lip service” and he doesn’t think he’ll carry them out, but if Trump is re-elected and carries through with them, the impact will be on people who are real. He said it would be more than that. Exiled.
“If we don’t have farmers coming to work and we depend on them, we have to hire people who don’t really want to work in the fields, and we have to pay them more. “It has to be,” Ramirez said. Said. “Then we have to sell our products at a higher price. Otherwise, we can’t grow here.”
He said mass deportations would also cause larger problems, such as job cuts in schools and the potential for mixed-status families to be separated.
Paulina Cortez, an illegal farm worker from Royal City, has been working in the fields of Washington State since she was 15 years old.
Photo credit: Monica Carrillo Casas
Royal City farm worker Paulina Cortez checks an apple before putting it in her back. Cortez has worked in the fields in Washington state for the past 15 years. She fears she will be deported and separated from her family if former President Donald Trump wins the election. Cortez’s name has been changed for his safety.
Now 30 years old and with five children (the oldest is 15), she fears what deportation will mean for her family.
“I’m not scared myself, but I’m scared of being separated from my children,” Cortez said in Spanish.
Her name has been changed to protect her identity.
Gloria Salcedo, an undocumented farm worker about an hour south of Royal City, has also been living in fear since Trump first took office.
A few years ago, during Trump’s presidency, one of her colleagues heard that ICE was planning a raid and warned undocumented workers to go home.
Soon, without a word, Salcedo left, as did everyone else at the farm.
“We need people who will do good for undocumented immigrants, for the Hispanic community, and most importantly for farm workers,” she said in Spanish. “We cannot continue to be afraid.”
For several months, she limited her time outside the home, only going to work, for fear of being deported.
Her last name was changed due to fears that Trump might become president.
The largest mass deportation in history, known as Operation Wetback, dates back to the Eisenhower administration in the 1950s, and President Trump has frequently spoken about the effort.
Last year, at a rally in Iowa, President Trump said he would “follow the Eisenhower model and carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.”
In the 1950s, as many as 1.3 million people were deported to remove undocumented Hispanics from the United States, even though many were invited to work in the field through the bracero program.
One of the justifications for this was the belief that it would benefit the health of the economy, which ultimately failed.
Despite this history, not everyone is convinced that mass deportation plans will have a significant impact on local communities.
Paula McKay, manager of Marjon Labor LLC, said many of the workers at Othello are in the H-2A program or have been here for several years, so she doesn’t think that’s a possibility, so she doesn’t think there will be any impact. He said no. Happening.
“I know it’s being taken out of context, but I don’t think that’s going to happen because they’re doing that to people who have been here illegally for 10, 20, 30 years. Because I don’t think I’m going to do it,” McKay said. “I think they will probably at least give you a chance to become a permanent resident or a citizen.”
Her colleague John Walling, founder of Mar-Jon, also doubts that will happen.
But he said if any regulations are introduced during the Trump administration’s potential second term, people who have worked hard and lived here for decades should be given a path to citizenship. Ta.
“Anyone who has a history of coming here should be left alone,” Walling said.
Other community members also remain in the dark.
Jose Garza, executive director of the Othello Food Bank, expressed doubts about whether President Trump would move forward with mass deportations, saying he remains unsure about how it will affect local communities. Not yet.
He stressed that Othello’s agricultural industry is well-established and could withstand such challenges. He wants to believe that if mass deportation were to occur, the community would come together.
“I think we’re primarily being influenced through state law, and especially with this election we’re going to have a new governor, we’re going to have a lot of new officials, so there’s going to be changes,” Garza said.
But even if state laws can pose problems, federal laws can pose even bigger problems.
In his first week in office, President Trump signed an executive order directing ICE to arrest and deport anyone in the country without authorization.
In April 2017, he announced that people who came to the country illegally as children, known colloquially as “Dreamers” and who are protected under a program called DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), were banned by his administration. “I want you to feel safe,” he said, “we are not chasing Dreamers.” , we are chasing criminals. ”
But two months earlier, ICE had detained a 23-year-old man in the Seattle area, even though he had DACA protection.
In response to this case and President Trump’s efforts to accelerate deportations, Governor Jay Inslee signed his own executive order in February 2017, stating at the time that “Washington will “I will not actively participate in the implementation of this plan.” It’s a despicable policy that tears families apart and undermines national security and community safety. ” Under this order, state agencies and their funds cannot be used to support federal deportation operations.
Antonio de Loera-Wurst, communications director for the United Farm Workers organization, also claims that President Trump tried to cut wages for farm workers, including American citizens, during his first term as president.
Colleen Putzel Kavanaugh, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization, said the incoming Trump administration would likely see widespread restrictions on legal immigration in the first term, including significant cuts to the refugee program and existing visas. It has been pointed out that there is a high possibility that it will be revived. A program designed to reunite families and help international students attend U.S. universities.
Such policies only increase the concerns of business owners like Portillo.
“I’ve been in business for 15 years. My wife also does DACA renewal applications and helps people fill out citizenship applications,” Portillo said. “If Trump becomes president, it won’t be good.”
Hernandez echoed those concerns, saying that ending these programs and deporting individuals obscures larger issues.
“As I said earlier, there are criminals among Hispanics, but there are also many criminals among Americans,” Hernandez said in Spanish.
“Everyone wants to focus solely on immigration.”
