Amid President Trump’s promise to crack down on illegal immigrants, fear of deportation is rising in Southern California, with more than one-third of residents in Los Angeles concerned they or someone they know will be removed from the country, according to a UCLA survey released Tuesday.
The second annual Los Angeles County Quality of Life Index survey, produced by the Los Angeles Initiative at the Luskin School of Public Affairs, queried about 1,600 county residents between Feb. 28 and March 12, and found that 37 percent are worried about deportation. Of that group, more than half said they were very concerned.
“The level of anxiety over deportation among county residents is staggering,” said Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative and a former county supervisor. “The national debate on immigration has heavily impacted Los Angeles. The extraordinary number of people who now fear engaging local government for services should be of concern for all of us.”
Follow-up interviews conducted by the Luskin School added a human dimension to the survey results
A half-Latino man in his early 30s who lives in the San Fernando Valley said he worried for his girlfriend’s family, most of whom are in the country legally but one of whom is not. “I wouldn’t even call the police,” he said.
Another respondent, a white woman in her late 50s who lives in the South Bay, said she’s concerned about neighbors and others being deported. “I hear from a lot of people who are afraid,” she said.
Latinos, followed by Asians, were the ethnic groups most concerned about deportation, and lower-income residents were more concerned than the wealthy.
Meanwhile, satisfaction with the overall impact immigrants are having on the region rose by four points over the past year’s survey.
— From Staff and Wire Reports
