As Trump’s raids ramp up, a Texas region’s residents stay inside — even when they need medical care

By AMANDA SEITZ and JACQUELYN MARTIN Associated Press WESLACO Texas AP These days Juanita says a prayer every time she attempts off the driveway of her modest rural home The -year-old mother who crossed into the United States from Mexico more than two decades ago and married an American carpenter fears federal agents may be on the hunt for her As she was about to leave for the pharmacy late last month her husband called with a frantic warning Immigration enforcement officers were swarming the store s parking lot Juanita who is prediabetic skipped filling medications that treat her nutrient deficiencies She also couldn t exposure being detained because she has to care for her -year-old daughter who has Down syndrome If I am caught who s going to help my daughter Juanita asks in Spanish through an interpreter Specific people quoted in this story insisted that The Associated Press publish only their first names because of concerns over their immigration status Juanita is hugged by her children Jose and daughter Marely who has Down syndrome Tuesday June during a portrait in Hidalgo County Texas AP Photo Jacquelyn Martin As the Trump administration intensifies deportation activity around the country several immigrants including several who have lived in Texas s southern tip for decades are unwilling to leave their homes even for necessary curative care Tucked behind the freeway strip malls roadside taquerias and vast citrus groves that span this -mile stretch of the Rio Grande Valley are people like Juanita who need critical healthcare care in one of the nation s poorest and unhealthiest regions For generations Mexican families have harmoniously settled several legally various not in this predominately Latino locality where immigration status was once hardly top of mind A very dangerous situation White House executives have directed federal agents to leave no location unchecked including hospitals and churches in their drive to remove million immigrants by year s end Those agents are even combing through the federal administration s largest biological record databases to search for immigrants who may be in the United States illegally Deportations and tougher restrictions will come with consequences says Mark Krikorian the director of the Center for Immigration Studies a think tank that favors restrictive immigration policies We shouldn t have let it get out of hand the way we did Krikorian says of the previous administration s immigration policies Various businesses are going to have difficulties Several communities are going to face difficulties Federal agents raids began reaching deeper into everyday life across the Rio Grande Valley in June just as the area s million residents began their summer ritual of enduring the suffocating heat A perimeter patrol agent works by a section of the dividing line wall Wednesday June in Mission Texas AP Photo Jacquelyn Martin This working-class stretch of Texas solidly backed Trump in the poll despite campaign promises to ruthlessly pursue mass deportations People here who once moved regularly from the U S to Mexico to visit relatives or get cheap dental care say they didn t realize his deportation campaign would focus on their neighbors But in new weeks restaurant workers have been escorted out mid-shift and farmers have suddenly lost field workers Schoolchildren talk openly about friends who lost a parent in raids More than a dozen were arrested last month at local flea markets according to local news reports and Edge Patrol leaders Immigrants are staying shut inside their mobiles homes and shacks that make up the colonias zoning-free neighborhoods that sometimes don t have access to running water or electricity says Sandra de la Cruz-Yarrison who runs the Holy Family Services Inc clinic in Weslaco Texas People are not going to vulnerability it de la Cruz-Yarrison says People are being stripped from their families Yet people here are among the the bulk medically needy in the country Related Articles Republicans can t stop talking about Joe Biden That may be a matter Texas Republicans aim to redraw House districts at Trump s urging but there s a vulnerability FDA names former pharmaceutical company executive to oversee US drug scheme Trump threatens to hold up stadium deal if Washington Commanders don t switch back to Redskins Did money or politics cause Colbert cancellation Either way the economics are tough for TV Nearly half the population is obese Women are more likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer and elderly people are more likely to develop dementia Bladder cancers can be more aggressive One out of every four people lives with diabetes As much as a third of the population doesn t have wellness insurance to cover those ailments And a quarter of people live in poverty more than double the national average Now numerous in this region are on a path to develop worse vitality outcomes as they skip medical professional appointments out of fear says Dr Stanley Fisch a pediatrician who helped open Driscoll Children s Hospital in the region last year We ve inevitably had unfortunately people who have gone with untreated diabetes for a long time and now it s compounded with these other issues at the moment Fisch says This is a very dangerous situation for people The population is suffering accordingly Trepidations about going to clinics are spreading Elvia was the unlucky and unsuspecting subject who sat down for the finger prick the clinic offers everyone during its monthly educational meeting for district members As blood oozed out of her finger the monitor registered a glucose level indicating she is prediabetic She balked at the idea of writing down her address for regular care at Holy Family Services clinic Nor did she want to enroll in Medicaid the federal and state funded operation that provides physical condition care coverage to the poorest Americans Although she is a legal resident certain people living in her house do not have legal status With posters illustrating stages of pregnancy behind them people attend a wellness clinic about diabetes held by Holy Family Services a birth center and women s clinic in the Rio Grande Valley Wednesday June in Weslaco Texas AP Photo Jacquelyn Martin Fewer people have come to Holy Family Services clinic with coverage in current months says billing coordinator Elizabeth Reta Over decades the clinic s midwifery staff has helped birth thousands of babies in bathtubs or on cozy beds in birthing houses situated throughout the campus But now Reta says specific parents are too scared to sign those children up for wellness insurance because they do not want to share too much information with the executive Even people I personally know that used to have Medicaid for their children that were born here that are legally here but the parents are not they stopped requesting Medicaid Reta says Their worry is well-founded An Associated Press assessment last week revealed that U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have gained access to personal fitness content including addresses of the nation s million Medicaid and Children s Physical condition Insurance Initiative enrollees The disclosure will allow ICE personnel to receive identity and location information of aliens documents obtained by the AP say In Texas the governor started requiring crisis room staff to ask patients about their legal status a move that doctors have argued will dissuade immigrants from seeking needed care State personnel have noted the input will show how much money is spent on care for immigrants who may not be here legally Federal law requires emergency rooms to treat any patients who come to the doors Visits to Holy Family Services mobile clinic have stopped altogether since Trump took office The van which once offered checkups at the doorsteps in the colonias now sits running on idle Its constant hum is heard throughout the clinic s campus to keep healthcare supplies fresh in the -degree temperatures These were hard-hit communities that really needed the services de la Cruz-Yarrison says People were just not coming after the administration changed A mother almost loses a son A daughter is too scared to visit the practitioner Immigrants were less likely to seek biological care during Trump s first term multiple studies concluded A survey of well-child visits in Boston Minneapolis and Little Rock Arkansas noted a drop for children who were born to immigrant mothers after Trump was elected in The survey also noted declines in visits when news about Trump s plans to tighten immigration rules broke throughout his first term It s a really high-anxiety atmosphere where they re afraid to talk to the pediatrician go to school or bring their kids to child care says Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba a Boston University researcher who oversaw the research Maria Isabel de Perez of Welasco Texas cries as she recounts how her son was too scared to go to a hospital when he felt intense pain in his abdomen in the past few days leading to his near-death when his appendix burst after she attended a diabetes clinic hosted by Holy Family Services a birth center and women s clinic in the Rio Grande Valley Wednesday June in Weslaco Texas AP Photo Jacquelyn Martin A delayed trip to the specialist almost cost -year-old Maria Isabel de Perez her son this spring He refused to seek help for his intense and constant stomach pains for weeks instead popping Tylenol daily so he could still labor in the farm fields of Arkansas she says He put off going to the hospital as rumors swirled that immigration enforcement functionaries were outside of the hospital He waited and waited because he felt the pain but was too scared to go to the hospital she explains in Spanish through an interpreter He couldn t go until the appendix exploded Her son is still recovering after surgery and has not been able to return to work she says Perez is a permanent resident who has lived in the United States for years But all of her children were born in Mexico and because she is a green card holder she cannot sponsor them for citizenship Maria meanwhile only leaves her house to volunteer at a local food bank She s skipped work on nearby farms And after last month s arrests she won t sell clothes for money at the flea arena anymore Terrified of being taken away from her children by ICE agents or police Maria has begun locking her fence with a chain and padlock Wednesday June at her home in Hidalgo County Texas AP Photo Jacquelyn Martin So she stuffs cardboard boxes with loaves of bread potatoes peppers and beans that will be handed out to the hungry Before the raids began about people would drive up to collect a box of food from Maria But on this sweltering June day only people show up for food She brings home a box weekly to her children ages and who are spending the summer shut inside Her -year-old daughter has skipped the checkup she requirements to refill her depression medication The teenager who checks in on friends whose parents have been arrested in immigration raids through a text group chat insists she is doing OK Maria left Mexico years ago because dangerous gangs rule her hometown she explains She s married now to an American truck driver We re not bad people Maria says from her dining room table where her -year-old son happily eats a lime green popsicle We just want to have a better future for our children Maria sobs as she recounts how scared and anxious she is for her children including -year-old Juan if she is taken away by ICE agents Wednesday June while inside her home in Hidalgo County Texas AP Photo Jacquelyn Martin Juanita the prediabetic mother who hasn t filled her prescriptions out of fear was not sure when she would brave the pharmacy again But with a cross hanging around her neck the devout Catholic says she will say three invocations before she does Explains her -year-old son Jose We unfailingly pray before we leave The Associated Press receives assistance from the National Press Club Journalism Institute s Community Medical Reporting Fellowship funded by the Common Vitality Coalition The AP is solely responsible for all content