LOCAL NON-PROFITS EMPOWER IMMIGRANT FAMILIES TO FIGHT FEAR WITH PREPARATION
By Emily Alvarez
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security have made their mission clear: Detain and deport a record number of immigrants in the United States, regardless of criminal history or ties to the country. The heightened number of detentions and deportations has had catastrophic consequences for families, especially children. The most recent statistics from the Migrant Policy Institute indicate that there are approximately 15.5 million minor children of immigrant parents who are US citizens.
According to data compiled by researchers at Syracuse University, there are currently close to 60,000 individuals in Immigration detention. CBS reports that of that number, nearly half, 47%, lack any criminal record. On top of that, just last month, the Department of Homeland Security announced that over 2 million individuals have either been removed or self-deported since January 20, 2025. The number of children left behind is staggering.
There are many national organizations that have stepped up during the heightened deportations across the country. Pivoting to assist families who have lost parents, bread winners and other adults to deportation, a series of best practices have been developed across organizations. In New Mexico, several Immigrant Rights groups are collaborating to provide tools to help families deal with and prepare for the devastating loss of income, stability, and safety that they experience when an immigrant parent has been arrested and detained.
In New Mexico, there are roughly 200,000 immigrants, and 11% of New Mexico’s workforce are immigrants (NM Voices for Kids). According to the American Immigration Council, nearly 58,000 U.S. Citizens in New Mexico live with at least one family member who is undocumented. Preparing families emotionally, financially, and legally has become the focus of many local non-profits in New Mexico, including Catholic Charities, NM Immigrant Law Center, Enlace Comunitario, Las Cumbres Community Services, Contigo Immigrant Project, United Voices for Newcomer Rights, among others (see resource list below).
In February 2025, these local non profits hosted a Family Preparedness Event at the Catholic Charities offices in Albuquerque, where families who attended the event completed a Power of Attorney for Minor Children as well as a Durable Financial Power of Attorney. Both of these documents are tools for families to ensure that their assets, and more importantly their children, are safe in the case of a detention or deportation. Notaries were on site to ensure the documents were legally binding. Staff and volunteers worked with attendees to complete their Power of Attorney, attend a quick Know Your Rights workshop, meet with legal representatives about their current immigration status, and speak with community partners tabling to provide resources to attendees. That event was attended by more than 100 participants and more than 60 Power of Attorney packets were completed and notarized.
In contrast, a similar event was held in August of 2025 with less than 20 attendees and 15 completed and notarized Power of Attorney packets. The sharp drop in attendance mirrors the sharp increase in fear of the immigrant population in our city, as well as nationally. After the event in August, many people showed up unannounced at the Catholic Charities main office to complete their Powers of Attorney privately – many of those individuals indicated that they were afraid to attend an organized event and preferred to arrive a different day to request the forms and complete them. The fear, anxiety, and distrust that many are feeling is not new to the immigrant community, especially to undocumented individuals, but it is greater than it ever has been.
Feelings of relief mixed with sadness filled the air as attendees signed their Power of Attorney and left the Family Preparedness events. No parent ever wants to imagine a situation in which they must sign over guardianship of their children, but no parent ever wants to imagine a situation in which there is no one to pick their children up from school because they’ve been detained by ICE, either.
A Family Preparedness Plan is meant to ensure that each aspect of a family’s life is accounted for, so parents must consider everything in their plan:
- Who are their emergency contacts?
- Do the parents have legal representation?
- Do the parents have any significant medical conditions that emergency contacts need to relay to the government?
- What is the child’s basic information (birth date, Social Security Number)
- What is the name of the child’s school? Does the emergency contact have permission to pick the child up from school?
- Who is the child’s Pediatrician?
- What medications does the child take? Which pharmacy do they get their refills?
- Does the child have any significant medical conditions?
- Does the child have any allergies?
These are questions that most parents know the answer to – but does anyone else? Immigrant parents must also consider who they are choosing as their agent in the Power of Attorney. Often an older child, a friend, or a neighbor, parents must ensure they are selecting someone with the emotional, mental, and financial means to take guardianship of the child. Parents are answering the question that no parent ever wants to consider: Who do you trust enough to care for your child if you are ripped away from them?
Our history knows the horrors of human nature and the idea that what happened in the 1940’s could be happening in this country today feels unfathomable. “Never Again” became a phrase with significant emotional weight, marking humanity’s commitment to never allow such suffering and human rights violations to repeat. We as humans know what happens when the people of a nation do not stand up and fight back, and we also know the countless stories of those who will go down in history as heroes for protecting those targeted. El pueblo salva al pueblo – the people save the people.
Here is a list of different immigrant serving organizations in New Mexico, with a multitude of services offered, by region:
Albuquerque
CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF CENTRAL NEW MEXICO
2010 Bridge Blvd SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105
505-539-0274 (By appointment only)
https://www.ccasfnm.org/
NM IMMIGRANT LAW CENTER
625 Silver Ave SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
505-247-1023 (By appointment only)
https://www.nmilc.org/
CONTIGO IMMIGRANT JUSTICE (Formerly Santa Fe Dreamer’s Project)
1213 Mercantile Rd, Ste C, Santa Fe, NM 87507
505- 490-2789 (By appointment only)
https://contigojustice.org/
EL CENTRO DE IGUALDAD Y DERECHOS
714 4th St. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104
505-246-1627
https://www.elcentronm.org/
ENLACE COMUNITARIO
2425 Alamo Ave SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106
505-246-8972
https://www.enlacenm.org/
CONSULATE OF MEXICO IN ALBUQUERQUE
1610 4TH Street NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
505-247-2147
ENCUENTRO
907 4th St SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
505-247-2920
https://encuentronm.org/home/
UNITED VOICES FOR NEWCOMER RIGHTS
Email: info@uvnr.org
https://encuentronm.org/home/
Northern New Mexico
CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF CENTRAL NEW MEXICO
2010 Bridge Blvd SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105
505-539-0274 (By appointment only)
https://www.ccasfnm.org/
NM IMMIGRANT LAW CENTER
625 Silver Ave SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
505-247-1023 (By appointment only)
https://www.nmilc.org/
CONTIGO IMMIGRANT JUSTICE (Formerly Santa Fe Dreamer’s Project)
1213 Mercantile Rd, Ste C, Santa Fe, NM 87507
505- 490-2789 (By appointment only)
https://contigojustice.org/
Southern New Mexico/El Paso
CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO
2215 South Main St., Ste B
Las Cruces, NM 88004
(575) 527-0500
https://www.catholiccharitiesdlc.org/
LAS AMERICAS IMMIGRANT ADVOCACY CENTER
1500 East Yandell, El Paso, TX 79902
(915) 544-5126
https://www.las-americas.org/
ESTRELLA DEL PASO
2400 A East Yandell, El Paso, TX 79903
(915) 532-3975
https://estrelladelpaso.org/
Emily Alvarez is currently the Director of Immigration at Catholic Charities, where she and her team provide low-cost immigration legal services throughout Central and Northern New Mexico. Graduated from UNM with a degree in Spanish and Chicano Studies, her passion for immigrant rights stems from an upbringing rooted in social justice.
Sources referenced in article:
Children in U.S. Immigrant Families | migrationpolicy.org
TRAC Immigration - Comprehensive, independent, and nonpartisan information about immigration enforcement
ICE holding a record 59,000 immigrant detainees, nearly half with no criminal record, internal data show - CBS News
Immigrants are a Vital Part of New Mexico’s Future – New Mexico Voices for Children
New Milestone: Over 2 Million Illegal Aliens Out of the United States in Less Than 250 Days | Homeland Security
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