WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Many of you came to WPTV's "Let's Hear It" event on Tuesday at the Esperanza Center in West Palm Beach.
It's a crucial platform welcoming the community to share personal stories and experiences.
WATCH BELOW: 'I’m very thankful for WPTV for being here, because through you our voices can be heard,' Lidia Perez says
Top of mind, for some who attended, is the profound impact immigration policies are having on the community. Attendees voiced their concerns over the increasing deportations and heightened fear affecting families in the area.
One voice that stood out during the event was that of Alida Gomez, a mother of two and a newborn.
"The situation we're living in with immigration isn't secure," she shared in Spanish. "Yes, it's affecting all of us a lot, all of us."
Gomez opened up about the heartbreaking implications of these crackdowns, revealing how they have torn her family apart.
In June, Gomez received a life-altering phone call from her husband, while she was seven months pregnant.
He informed her that his landscaping truck had been pulled over by law enforcement, leading to his detention.
Her husband was the breadwinner while she finished her pregnancy and cared for the kids.
"How do you explain something like that to your children?" WPTV's Joel Lopez asked.
The emotional weight of her response was palpable.
"It was so difficult. They would see me cry and ask 'Mom, what's happening? Mommy, what's happening?' At one point I had to explain to them that they took Daddy; it's going to be just us."
Gomez said her husband was taken to the Alligator Alcatraz detention center and eventually deported back to Guatemala, leaving her to care for her two kids, and their baby girl that was born months later.
"When we came here from Guatemala, we wanted to make something of ourselves, we wanted to get ahead. Now I'm struggling with the kids," she expressed. "I go outside in fear, I take my children to school in fear; when I leave the house, I bring my kids because if something happens, I know they'll be with me."
Her family relied on organizations like the Esperanza Center for help with necessities like food and diapers. Now, Gomez is planning to move to Guatemala to reunite with her husband and family.
"We don't feel safe here," said Gomez.
The Esperanza Center has been dedicated to supporting all members of the community in need for six years, providing educational resources, food, and supplies while encouraging local families to connect and pay it forward.
"The way that we get stronger is we come together as a community," said Patrick Williams, whose wife, Maricela Torres, is the executive director of the center. "Everybody can help out in different ways; it's not always money; it's volunteering, it's supporting the organization in different ways as far as sponsorship."
Williams emphasized the importance of community involvement.
“This organization is here to support the community, and it’s done on the backs of people that have seen the vision and supported it, and it continues to do great things,” he said.
The center is actively seeking donations and support from community members of all backgrounds to expand their resources.
However, there’s a palpable sense of loss within the local community, as staff at Esperanza reported a 30% drop in the immigrant population nearby since the onset of stricter enforcement policies.
They could not say if the loss is from people who moved away, were deported, or are in hiding.
Local cosmetologist Lidia Perez addressed this issue, sharing the emotional toll it’s taken on families.
"I have a 10-year-old son who said, 'Mom, my classmate isn't going to come back to school, because his dad was deported and he has to move,'" Perez recounted. "Imagine hearing that. It impacted me, because I have kids, and I can't imagine my children not being by our side."
She noted the stark difference in the street corners of West Palm Beach, which were once bustling with workers waiting for job opportunities.
"There used to be so many workers. I would pass by every day going to work. If I go by now, they're gone. Why? Because they're afraid that they'll be deported. So think about it, how are those families surviving?" Perez urged the community to support food kitchens and organizations that assist families in need.
"I’m very thankful for WPTV for being here, because through you our voices can be heard, so thank you," Perez concluded, reminding everyone of the importance of ensuring that their stories reach a larger audience.
WPTV wanted to look into the overall impact of immigration enforcement and found new data from the Department of Homeland Security.
DOH numbers shed light on the recent actions taken against undocumented immigrants.
As of now, over 2 million illegal migrants have been removed from the U.S., with 1.6 million choosing to self-deport, while over 400,000 have been deported.
More than 200,000 deportations are expected by the end of the year.
