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Living Under Threat

Two personal accounts of the fear ICE has brought to New York City

These stories were produced by high school students in the Bronx exploring how immigration enforcement and the fear of deportation affect families in their communities. Through interviews and personal reflections, the students focused on experiences that are often spoken about politically, but less often understood through the lives of the people directly impacted.

For safety reasons, some names and identifying details have been changed or withheld.

These stories focus on the emotional realities surrounding immigration enforcement — fear, separation, uncertainty, and the ways these experiences shape everyday life for many families across New York City. Through their reporting, the students aimed to document the personal side of an issue that continues to affect their communities in very real ways.

I.

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The Things I Never Asked My Father

I come from a family with two immigrant parents who have struggled financially, but especially from a father who lives with the fear of ICE. My father has no legal paperwork, yet he is the main source of income for our family. He once told me that every day he goes to work with the fear that ICE could stop him and take him away. If that happened, he would be forced to leave behind his partner and his three children a five-year-old daughter, a sixteen-year-old son, and an eighteen-year-old son.

Even with all those risks, my dad still wakes up every morning, goes to work, and comes home exhausted just to provide for us and make sure my little sister can have a good childhood. But even that has become harder. Everything is expensive now, tablets, toys kids see online, clothes and my sister has no idea about any of it. She lives her life without worry, not knowing there’s a possibility that one day her parents could disappear without a final goodbye, hug, or kiss.
Then there’s me a sixteen-year-old kid who never really took the time to learn more about his father, what he does, or what he’s afraid of. I never realized how much of an impact he has on our family. Recently, I kept seeing things all over social media about undocumented immigrants and deportation. Seeing the new president constantly talk about immigrants as if they should all be sent back made me start thinking about my own father. I realized I barely knew anything about him besides the fact that he worked in New Jersey and came from Puebla, Mexico.

I started wondering if he had documents or not. When I found out he didn’t, it hit me hard. There was a real possibility that my family could be separated. If my dad got deported, everything in our lives would change. It would mean losing my free time, my dreams, and maybe never getting the chance to truly know who my dad is.
“I am always afraid of ICE...”
The next day, I decided to spend time with him. We sat together while he showed me how to make a cube-shaped toy out of guajes, something he wanted to surprise my little sister with when she woke up. Watching him do that shocked me in a way. It reminded me that my dad was once a kid too. I don’t think I had ever really seen him like that before or maybe I did when I was younger and forgot.

He told me his father taught him how to make those toys when he was a child. It was also one of the first times he really spoke to me about his own father and about arriving in New York City. He came with his uncles at first, but eventually they all went separate ways. He stayed in New York for a while, then moved to New Jersey before returning to the Bronx. Eventually, he met one of my mom’s family members, and that’s how my parents were introduced.

Over the past few weeks, getting to know him has honestly been one of the coolest things I’ve experienced. I started realizing that every time my dad was strict with me and my brother growing up, it came from a place of worry and love. He was trying his best to protect us and give us a childhood, the same way he’s now trying to do for my little sister.

II.

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no name, no face

“In a matter of minutes, my whole life could change. In minutes, two years of my life could disappear. All my effort, all my time, all my dedication could suddenly mean nothing. I came to this country searching for a better future and a chance to accomplish my dreams. Now I’m afraid this same country could take them away from me.”

Those were the first words my best friend told me when we started speaking about immigration and the fear he lives with every day.

Two years ago, he left his life behind in the Dominican Republic and came to the United States to build a new one. He left his family without knowing when he would see them again. He told me it was one of the biggest sacrifices of his life.

“I’ve played baseball since I was six years old,” he said. “Becoming a professional baseball player has always been my dream, and I’ve spent my whole life working toward it.”
“In a matter of minutes...”
“I’ve played baseball since I was six years old,” he said. “Becoming a professional baseball player has always been my dream, and I’ve spent my whole life working toward it.”

In the Dominican Republic, he explained, baseball can open doors, but it does not always guarantee stability. That was one of the main reasons he came to the United States. Here, universities offered him opportunities, internships with Major League Baseball organizations, and experiences that could help him reach the professional level.

“Back home, there are limitations that make reaching that dream much harder,” he told me. “That’s why the idea of being deported feels like losing everything I’ve worked for.”
Now in his final year of high school, he has earned scholarships and financial aid for college because of his academic performance. He was accepted into Manhattan University and Monroe and plans to attend one of them after the summer. Alongside baseball, he also plans to study business and sports management.

But despite everything he has accomplished, fear still follows him.

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