Lawyers address immigrants' fears and questions at workshop

TOMBALL, Texas (FOX 26) - The worry and concern are clear on the faces of the  people listening intently in the auditorium. The rapidly changing rules about immigration have many here on the Lone Star College Tomball campus concerned.

Many here are or know so-called "dreamers", those who came at a young age with their parents.

“It made me nervous because I have a lot of friends and relatives who are immigrants,”  said Veronica Deronda.

The college hosted a workshop with immigration lawyers to answer their questions about to the rapidly changing  and contentious battle over immigration.

The president says his staff is re-crafting a ban on travel from seven mostly Muslim countries after the courts put his first one on hold.  The president has also threatened to cut off funding to so-called  sanctuary cities.  While not officially defined the term generally refers to cities that refuse to enforce federal immigration laws.  The uncertainty has immigration lawyers themselves scrambling to keep up and to figure out what to tell their clients.

“We are possibly going to be exposed to expedited removal, and so we are telling people who are here without permission is to carry any proof that they have been here for at least two years so they have a right to go before an immigration judge,” said attorney Sarah Monty.

Texas is pushing through its own legislation to cut off money to sanctuary cities.  It's one of several states to do so. We tried to ask Lt. Governor Dan Patrick about it during a news conference in Houston. He didn't want to answer questions or talk about it.

While stories about checkpoints at grocery stores and of mass deportations under the Trump Administration  have proven to be untrue, the fear remains very real for some.

“He's just trying to deport and keep everybody out of the U.S. I know he's trying to create jobs but he's doing the wrong thing,” said student Hector Flores.