SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) - Many undocumented people in the Savannah area are attempting to plan for a future that is anything but certain, with advocates said that many of them are constantly looking over their shoulders.
"To be very honest, the sense that has been overall within the community is fear," Luisa Nolasco, a Community Organizer with Migrant Equity Southeast, said.
Nolasco said the fear has only intensified after the latest Immigration and Customs enforcement operation in our area Tuesday afternoon, according to the Atlanta Drug Enforcement Agency.
"Specifically, their representatives for the Southeast said they are not sharing any information about their operations," Nolasco said.
She said many are searching for meaningful information, but they end up with misinformation instead.
"We see a lot of people trying to use the advantage of, for instance, social media channels to get people aware of what's going on but just making sure that the information that's being shared is something that's correct," Nolasco said. "Second where did you hear that from? Where did you get that information? To make sure we're not spreading more a sense of panic."
For many, the panic is fueled by the fear that ICE could show up at their front door, their church, or their child's school thanks to a new directive from the Department of Homeland Security that rescinds a Biden-era guideline designating those types of places as "sensitive areas."
"We're trying to work with the school system and decide what we can do, what collaborations can we do to make sure that the parents are safe taking their children to school every day," Nolasco said. "I know myself of just a letter a child sent to their friend, and they were saying, hey I might not be staying here in this country for a long time, and if that's the case, I just want you to not forget about me because you are a friend."