OC community leaders, rights groups brace for Trump immigration directives during 2nd term

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- With threats of mass deportations by President-elect Donald Trump, immigrant rights advocates in Orange County say factual information and support at the local level are key to protecting immigrant communities.

According to the Harbor Institute for Immigrant Economic Justice, 30% of Orange County's population -- nearly a million people -- are immigrants and refugees. Of that, 394,717 people are noncitizens.

The executive director of the nonprofit, Carlos Perea, said that the support of local government and education is critical.

"Misinformation and fear is gonna be one of the biggest challenges that as advocates and leaders we're gonna have to overcome during the Trump administration," Perea said. "The line of defense is going to be assuring the cities and counties actually do not facilitate Trump's mass deportations."

Executive Director of VietRISE Tracy La said the Vietnamese immigrant community learned what to prepare for during the last two administrations.

"The increase in deportations affecting Vietnamese communities increased due to the Trump administration and then the Biden administration ended up carrying the deportations out. So the thing that we're gonna be focusing on the most is ensuring that community members are informed and have the skills and the information necessary to defend themselves and their community, but in addition to these fears, they're facing the psychological turmoil of not knowing when they'll be separated from their families," La said.

The legal services director of the Ahri Center said the nonprofit was fielding calls with concerns about what all this means, with many coming from the Korean immigrant community.

"We have been speaking to community members one-on-one, but we also do have plans to have rapid response mechanisms like hotlines and other ways that people can get in touch anonymously because I think that's also an important part of our work -- to make sure our community members feel safe," Seon said.

Perea said that during the last Trump administration, Orange County saw an increase in hate crime, leading immigrant rights advocacy groups to prepare for a similar trend this time around.