North Texas immigrants weigh travel concerns amid promises of ‘mass deportation’

It’s Tuesday afternoon, and Fermín is waiting at the Tornado Bus station, located on Jefferson St. in the heart of Oak Cliff. He’s trying to get home to Houston.

“What is home?” he said. “I guess Houston is home now, since that’s where I have family and friends.”

Fermín, who said he is undocumented and didn’t want to use his last name, can’t go back to his native Mexico because of his immigration status. He’s here for his job and travels to places like Dallas and Chicago, working for a company that builds golf courses.

He said although he keeps on traveling within the U.S. for work, he feels a heightened sense of caution. He’s aware of President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for mass deportation starting on day one of his second term. The uncertainty makes Fermín anxious, but what choice does he have, he said. He said he fears people like him will be targeted.

“To be in this country, we have can’t commit any type of error, because that’s not going to help us,” he said in Spanish. “We must take care of ourselves to not be deported, because they can detain us for any little thing or any type of mistake – and that will give them an excuse to deport us immediately.”

Fermín was one of few people willing to go on the record to talk to KERA. Other passengers at the Tornado Bus terminal said they don’t have a problem traveling because they have a visa to go to Mexico and return to the U.S.

Another traveler, an elderly man who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he doesn’t believe Trump will follow through with a mass deportation. “They need us,” he said.

Round-trip tickets to Mexico continue to be sold at a steady pace, because this is a peak season for holiday travel, a Tornado ticket agent told KERA. The Oak Cliff terminal takes passengers to cities in Texas and Mexico.

The agent spoke on condition of anonymity because she said she was on the clock. She said they’re not feeling any pushback yet from customers. She said people traveling to Mexico now are buying round trip tickets because they have the necessary documentation to travel.

Another ticket agent at Transportes San Miguel, also located in Oak Cliff, said that ticket sales remained steady for them and that she expected sales to increase within the next two weeks ahead of the holidays.

Noe Medina, 44, is originally from Honduras and travels for work as a painter. He was also at the Tornado Bus terminal Tuesday morning waiting to go to Houston. Like many immigrants from Honduras, he has Temporary Protected Status.

“I’m not afraid,” he said. “I feel like everything is normal for me in this country.”

He said other immigrants shouldn’t be afraid, either — as long as they have their paperwork in order.

“I recommend that people get their passport at their country’s consulate or some type of ID, so they can identify themselves if they get stopped by police,” he said. “And to make sure they don’t make bad decisions like drinking and driving.”

But others, like 80-year-old Guadalupe Macias, said he wouldn’t travel to Mexico right now because of security concerns on both sides of the border. Originally from León, Guanajuato, Macias has lived in Dallas for 50 years and retired from truck driving more than a decade ago.

He said he used to travel to Mexico for work but stopped out of fear because “things happened on the road.” He cited instances where Mexican government officials took money from him during his travels.

“People are afraid to travel to Mexico because of Trump’s election,” he said. “People are feeling uneasy because of the situation here, but because of the situation over there as well.” Macias said the best thing would be to not risk it and to not travel for the time being.

José Antonio García Gómez, who has lived in Dallas for 25 years, was at the same bus terminal Wednesday morning trying to figure out how much luggage he can take back to his native Mexico. He’s planning to sell his truck, move there and not come back.

It has nothing to do with politics, he said: García Gómez, who had been hospitalized for four months, is unable to continue working as an electrician. He’s leaving Texas, he said, because he’s exhausted all of his options, and his children will help care for him in his hometown of Mexico City.

“If I sell my truck tomorrow, tomorrow I’ll leave,” he said.

García Gómez said he never imagined leaving under these circumstances — to leave a country that he considers his second home.

“I’m leaving out of necessity,” he said. “I’m not leaving because I am afraid of Trump or any politician. I always worked an honest living and earned good money, and I was able to put my kids through school, but I can’t work anymore.”

García Gómez said people shouldn’t be afraid to travel because of the talk of mass deportations. He believes that it was an exaggeration on Trump’s part to appeal to his voter base.

“The one that deported more people after so many people voted for him was Obama,” García Gómez said. The Obama administration deported about 1.5 million people during his first term.

While García Gómez and others are not feeling any changes yet, he said immigrants should still be vigilant.

Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.

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