Frederick County non-profits explained fear of federal immigration enforcement is driving down the numbers of people seeking services during a joint meeting of the county and city councils this week.
Claudia Hernandez, Chair of Frederick County’s Immigrant Affairs Commission, said they saw a more than a 50% drop in people accessing services starting in June of last year. “While analysis is ongoing, the timing of this decline aligns with federal immigration related executive actions and increase in enforcement activity,” Hernandez said.
In June, President Trump released a proclamation partially or fully barring foreign nationals from 19 countries from entering the US. Termination of Haiti’s temporary protected status was also announced at the time. These were accompanied by increased efforts to arrest undocumented immigrants at the border and within the US.
Hernandez pointed out that much of the community living along Route 40, also known as the Golden Mile, are immigrants. More than 56% of clients walking into their office were Hispanic. Yet actions by ICE are causing people to become hypervigilant, she said, and as a result, many are choosing to self-isolate.
She was encouraged to see numbers slowly beginning to rise once more in recent months. “However, outreach efforts continue to require intentional reassurance, sensitivity and trust building,” Hernandez explained.
In contrast, Manuel Casiano, board member of Centro Hispano de Frederick, said his organization has seen a dramatic increase in the demand for services over the last six to eight months.
Centro Hispano offers immigration classes and helps to teach people about the immigration process. Casiano explained they have three lawyers that volunteer their time for reduced or no cost, and help those who visit the center.
Yet among all the people that come through their doors, Casiano explained, they have seen a substantial increase in mental and emotional health issues among women. Women, often with children, will come through their doors whose husbands have either been detained or deported. “One of the things we would ask is thinking about support systems for people who are suddenly without the breadwinner in their family,” Casiano said.
City of Frederick Council Member César Díaz said helping residents with rent is at the top of his list. He wants to see more programs funded through local dollars to lower the bar for access. “Especially if they’re federally funded programs, then of course the federal government has put a lot of barriers,” Díaz explained. “People have to have immigration papers, so that illuminates a lot of the people that are affected.”
Díaz clarified not every barrier has to be placed intentionally, as sometimes simply not having enough money can be the problem. To that extent, County Council President Brad Young said he wants to increase opportunities for grants to local non-profits. “A dollar invested in your organizations provides us a lot more return than a dollar that we can spend in our budget,” Young said. “Because of the multiplier effect of the volunteers, of the access to products and services your clients and our citizens need.”
Tandem to the issue of rent is the struggle for housing inventory. Elizabeth Chung, Executive Director of the Asian American Center of Frederick (AACF) asked the county and city to work together to find land where new affordable housing can be built.
For her, it's not just a matter of how local governments react in times of crisis, but of building — literally — a community that allows residents to feel like they belong. To that end, Kezhong Liu, an 84 year old Frederick County resident learning English at the AACF, asked for a greater focus to be put on transportation for elderly immigrants within the community.
Many elderly residents cannot drive, Liu explained, which can leave them with a sense of separation from the community. Among Frederick’s immigrant households, language barriers can add to that emotional and social distance.
He would like to see opportunities offered to seniors to visit libraries and museums. Notably, Liu hopes to see events where people of many different backgrounds grow closer together. “We can talk, practice English, and share our cultures,” Liu said. “This helps build friendships, a stronger community and sense of belonging.”
When it comes to bringing the community together, Manuel Casiano explained Centro Hispano holds programs that help to build relationships with children and local police. He said the Frederick City police have a very positive attitude towards the immigrant community, which he contrasted to ICE’s behavior.
Casiano said that positive relationship extended to the County Sheriff’s office as well. While Sheriff Chuck Jenkins was a supporter of 287(g) immigration enforcement agreements, which the Maryland General Assembly banned this year. Casiano explained they have had good conversations with the Sheriff. “He’s been very good about talking with us and explaining his side of things and we explain ours,” Casiano clarified.
Of anything that can be focused on moving forward, Casiano would like to see the county and city put more focus into emotional health. With everything going on at the national and local stage, he thinks all age groups could benefit from the support.
