ST. LOUIS – A normally vibrant and diverse area was quiet on Friday. Maleja Gonzalez was out along Cherokee Street, reluctantly, getting groceries.
“Look. I’m shaking now. I have papers, but I know a lot of families don’t have that,” she said.
She says she is in the U.S. legally but is still nervous as deportation flights are underway around the country.
“They allowed people to come in at levels that nobody’s ever seen before… It was really an invasion. We will not allow our territory to be violated after four long years,” President Donald Trump said, discussing his administration’s efforts.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested more than 500 people this week in various states. Fox News is reporting that about 370 of those were criminal arrests, but another 165 were non-criminal.
“It’s not fair because we come to work. We work; we pay taxes. We do everything correctly,” Gonzalez said.
ICE has not confirmed any arrests in our area or returned messages left by FOX 2 News. But it is all taking a toll on our immigrant community.
People were reluctant to talk to FOX 2 on Friday.
“When I saw you, I felt like we needed to run. The street is so lonely. Nobody’s coming,” Gonzalez told us.
A local store employee said anonymously that customers are buying food in bulk so they do not have to leave the house as often. Gonzalez says she feels targeted and feels it is not fair.
“We work so hard. We love this country. I love this country,” she said.