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As the Trump Administration gears up to take power, the Tulsa community is preparing to navigate one of Trump’s biggest promises: immigration control.
2 News also covered Oklahoma Governor's stance on the issue:
2 News' Isabel Flores listened to community members about what they have been doing to prepare.
She spoke with a woman who chose to stay anonymous for the purposes of this story.
“To have some sort of residency in the future, since we’ve been here in the country for such a long time, we have children that were born here," she said.
She told Isabel that she came to the United States legally 13 years ago, but her documents aren't in order- which is an issue.
She said she came to the United States to live a better life for her and her family.
“I see my childrens’ lives here, not in my home country," she said. "In the future, we could secure a permit or a residency- that would be our dream to be here legally with our children.”
Molly Bryant is the senior director of Immigrant and Refugee Services at YWCA.
She said there are about 90,000 undocumented immigrants living in Oklahoma and over half of them have been here for more than a decade.
She says more than 75% of them live with a U.S. citizen.
“They're our neighbors, our co-workers, they're on the PTA board, they go to church with us," she said. "They've been here for a really long time, and they're really woven into the fabric of our community.”
She wants everyone to know that the YWCA is a resource people can use if they need help with things from access to power of attorney, residencies and citizenship.
“Right now our focus of the YWCA is to really help community members understand their rights — so their rights also what pathways they might have to immigration relief or citizenship, if any,” she said.
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