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Maric茅 Morales said her small law firm has been so busy working immigration cases since news of President-elect Donald Trump (R) returning to the White House that she鈥檚 looking to hire extra help.
鈥淓verybody is really afraid,鈥� Morales said in a recent interview. 鈥淎nd they鈥檙e wondering if they have a pending petition, if that is enough to protect themselves under the law, in front of a judge.鈥�
That means the former Montgomery County delegate, the sole attorney in the Law Office of Maric茅 Morales, who works with four paralegals, is looking for extra hands to deal with the increased workload, as immigrants across the state look to shore up their documentation status in anticipation of a hostile Trump administration.
Trump repeatedly promised on the campaign trail that he will begin on his first day of his presidency. His nominations since the election of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary and former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Thomas Holman as a White House 鈥渂order czar鈥� have only increased the likelihood he will hold true that promise.
Immigration attorneys and immigrant advocates looking for every available avenue to keep as many Maryland immigrants as possible in the state. According to CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization, there are around 300,000 undocumented residents in Maryland. Other organizations, like the Migration Policy Institute, put the number at .
鈥淭hey are very devastated, very scared,鈥� said Gustavo Torres, CASA鈥檚 executive director, of undocumented residents in Maryland. 鈥淭hey are concerned about what will happen with their family. But at the same time, they are ready to fight back, meaning they are ready to do whatever it takes to protect their rights.鈥�
He said that CASA is working on outreach, including a 鈥淜now Your Rights鈥� educational campaign to help migrants navigate the complicated immigration system and connect them with resources.
Torres and immigration lawyers in the state say a lot of protection for undocumented immigrants and those under certain immigration programs will come from the court system.
Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations with American Immigration Lawyers Association, said that lawyers are working to get as many immigration cases filed as possible before Trump takes office on Jan. 20, 2025.
鈥淭rump has promised a lot of things on immigration that can be very scary. A lot of our members are focused on trying to get as many filings in now as they can,鈥� she said. 鈥淢any of our members know what happened in the first Trump administration, that litigation became such a key tool in their arsenal to get their clients鈥� cases approved or even to challenge those policies.
鈥淭he positive is that we all went through a Trump 1.0 administration, so we know what policies they enacted and will then likely bring back,鈥� she said.
That said, Dalal-Dheini noted that Trump鈥檚 administration is likely to be more successful this term, as he will be building off of his previous experience from his last presidency that ended in 2020.
According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a federal records database maintained by Syracuse University, there were immigration cases in Maryland as of October, a fraction of the 3.7 million cases nationwide. According to Morales, those 57,000 people are more protected from deportation due to the fact that they have a case open in court.
鈥淎s long as you鈥檙e within the court system, you have the guarantee that your rights will be protected,鈥� Morales said.
Both Morales and Dalal-Dheini said that Maryland tends to be more immigrant-friendly than other states.
鈥淲e鈥檙e also in a much more diverse and open-minded and immigrant-friendly community,鈥� Dalal-Dheini said. 鈥淟ike our leadership in Maryland has always valued what immigrants bring to our country, regardless of whether they are documented or not.鈥�
DACA and TPS in question
Still, immigration attorneys and advocates fear that a Trump presidency may also affect the roughly who are in the state under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and the to who have been given Temporary Protective Status (TPS).
DACA residents, sometimes called Dreamers, are undocumented immigrants who are protected from deportation because they were brought to the U.S. as children. Those with TPS have been granted temporary immigration status to stay in the U.S. because of a natural disaster or an ongoing conflict that makes it unsafe for them to return their home country.
Both categories are lawfully present, but advocates fear it is just a matter of time before the Trump administration tries to disrupt those programs.
鈥淭he Trump administration has used rhetoric that would call people who are here legally 鈥� on temporary protective status or DACA or parole, they鈥檙e allowed to be here and live here legally 鈥� they now try to refer to those individuals as illegal,鈥� Dalal-Dheini. 鈥淪o, this sense of fear in the immigrant community 鈥� I think that鈥檚 the biggest problem, that people are going to be looking over their shoulder all the time.鈥�
Thousands of immigrants in Maryland could be deported if Trump carries through on the mass deportation plans he campaigned on.
鈥淧eople will be disappearing,鈥� Morales said. 鈥淵ou鈥檒l go to the grocery store and you won鈥檛 see workers, or go to your favorite restaurant and you won鈥檛 see people 鈥� kids in your kid鈥檚 classrooms who won鈥檛 be there anymore.鈥�
Dalal-Dheini advises that immigrants and concerned residents get in contact with a lawyer to see what their options are.
鈥淭hey should definitely consult with an attorney to see if there are things that they could do to further protect themselves,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 think it will be really important to try to normalize your status, if you are able to change to some kind of more permanent status,鈥� Dalal-Dheini said. 鈥淚mmigrants should, knowing that there鈥檚 this deportation, that people should have emergency plans in place.鈥�
