Under Trump’s crackdowns, immigrants grapple with fear and uncertainty

On his first day in office, Trump issued several executive orders including eliminating DEI initiatives within the federal government, withdrawing the U.S from the World Health Organization (WHO) and freezing U.S foreign aid assistance to allies.

Among some of the most concerning to immigrants include Trump’s orders for the immediate removal of individuals in the U.S without legal status, as well as ending birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S to parents without legal status.

For New York City entrepreneurs and best friends, Sadithi De Zilva and Madeline Coronato, the rapidly changing immigration policies have created daily anxiety.

Related: Black and Brown communities continue long history of mutual aid

“It’s just heartbreaking to think that everything we’ve worked for could be taken away just because of where I was born,” said De Zilva.

The 24-year-old filmmaker was born in Sri Lanka, a small island country south of India. When she was five years old, she left Sri Lanka and moved to Hong Kong with her mother. At 17 years old, the pair moved to New York, where she has been living since.

De Zilva moved to the United States on a dependent visa, which allowed her to live in the U.S. while her mother worked. When she started university, she successfully applied for a student visa, and after graduation she applied for DED.

DED stands for Deferred Enforced Departure, a temporary protected status that protects certain individuals from deportation for an established timeframe. For Hong Kong residents like De Zilva who are on temporary status in the U.S, DED initially allowed them to extend their stay for an additional two years.

Former President Joe Biden first issued a memorandum granting DED and work authorization for specific Hong Kong residents in August 2021 due to ongoing and turbulent political conflict in Hong Kong. Biden extended DED in 2023.

When the AmNews first spoke with De Zilva and Coronato in January, De Zilva’s status was set to expire in less than a month.

They had difficulty fathoming the possibility that De Zilva could be deported from the U.S, and what that could do to their business.

“I mean, my biggest fear is that Scrappack essentially becomes obsolete if I have to go and neither of us want that.” De Zilva said. “It’s a future that I can’t bring myself to think about or I just become a little paralyzed, and so we’re moving [forward] with the idea that everything is going to work out.”

When De Zilva applied for DED in 2024, they accepted her Hong Kong permanent residence card. Later that year, however, she learned that she was no longer considered a Hong Kong resident due to her prolonged absence from the region.

This means that if deported, De Zilva would have to return to Sri Lanka, a country she hasn’t been to since leaving as a child.

“It feels so stunting to have to go back and just relearn everything,” she said. “I am very grateful that I do still have family in Sri Lanka, so it’s not going to be a scenario where I’m going and not having a support system. But I am going to have to start from scratch for everything else, including learning the language,” she said.

In New York, De Zilva said that she has been able to pursue her passions. She’s terrified of losing that freedom.

“I pursued my dream of wanting to make movies and wanting to create, and that’s something that I couldn’t have done back at home. In it, I found family and community, and I do feel in a small way I achieved the American dream.” she said. “I found the freedom to be myself with them. I found a network that is so wonderful and wants me to achieve things. So I think I got the American dream and now I’m scared I’m going to lose it.”

Part of that dream was becoming an actress. Working toward that goal, she studied acting at Pace University where she met Coronato. However, they didn’t become close until moving in together.

“We were different grades and different majors within the acting school [at Pace].” De Zilva explained. Coronato graduated during the pandemic, and De Zilva graduated shortly after. “It got to a point where we somehow found ourselves being roommates.”

Living together, the young women found themselves collaborating and helping each prepare for auditions and other theater related projects, as well lamenting over their qualms with the entertainment industry. They quickly became best friends and business partners, officially launching their production company, Scrappack Productions, as an LLC in May 2024. Soon after, De Zilva obtained her social security number.

It was a hurdle that held them back from carrying out their vision of being business owners, but it wasn’t the only consequence De Zilva faced as an immigrant. She has had to deny several career-advancing opportunities.

“She booked a play last spring which would have flown her out to Colorado, and she was the playwright’s number one choice. She had to turn it down because she was switching over to her DED visa and she wasn’t allowed to fly at that point in time,” Coronato said. “So it was something that she was like I don’t want to get anyone in trouble or get myself in trouble.”

Separating would require the pair to completely alter their business structure. Coronato said they would attempt to sustain it long distance, but admitted that doing so would be challenging .

“Sunny and I have a very fluid way of working where we know when one person needs to lead and one person needs to follow and we just have kind of fortunately melded into that and it’s very natural and it’s very easy,” she said. “We’d have to find a way to pivot and delegate more virtual responsibilities whereas I guess more tangible or in-person responsibilities would be delegated to me.”

De Zilva said that it’s difficult to set goals for the business and herself when the future is unclear.

“I feel like I’ve been running for seven years to try and make everything work,” said De Zilva. “All we’re asking for right now is the opportunity to keep contributing to this country that I [believe] has given me so much and has given me the chance to be able to work on my dreams and we just want to keep doing it.”

Hope with hesitation Days after Scrappack Productions’ interview with AmNews, former President Biden announced an extension of DED until 2027, one of several final memos he authorized before leaving office on January 20, 2025.

The AmNews quickly reconnected with the pair to discuss their reactions, four days after Trump took office.

“It’s definitely a relief,” said De Zilva. “A part of me is a little scared that it could also just be taken away because everything is still really wishy-washy in our government. So it feels like there’s a floor now, but that floor and that foundation could crack at any second.”

Coranto shared similar emotions, “I’m cautiously optimistic, but I also feel like I’m still holding my breath. So that’s kind of where my head and my heart is at.”

At the time of the second interview with De Zilva and Coronato, it had been four days since President Donald Trump took office. Their lingering anxiety, they explained, has largely to do with the current political administration’s immigration crackdown.

“So it’s like yes, currently we know that I have these two years and that’s awesome, but it would be a little naive of us to not expect that that could change at any moment.” said De Zilva.

Despite losing her Hong Kong permanent residence status, she qualified for the 2025 DED extension since she was eligible for the original extension two years prior.

Individual experience, collective reality De Zilva arrived in the U.S during Trump’s first administration. Throughout his 2016 campaign and presidency, Trump proposed and implemented stricter immigration policies, including mass deportations of undocumented immigrants and increased security at the border. Reports indicate that 1.9 million deportations were conducted under his first term.

While former President Biden loosened immigration laws, such as suspending all border wall construction and rescinding Trump’s national emergency declaration after taking office in 2021, his administration conducted more than double the deportations of Trump’s due to record-high migrant encounters.

As Trump planned his return to the White House in 2024, stern immigration policy remained a cornerstone of his campaigns. Within days of beginning his second presidential term, he issued executive actions that led to ICE raids being carried out across several cities.

For immigrants on temporary status like De Zilva, the uncertainty of fluctuating U.S immigration laws has raised concerns about whether protections like DED will remain.

“Typically, it’s something that’ll end up in the court if he does try to withdraw DED during the period that it’s been recertified for,” said Gadi Zohar, an immigration attorney and managing partner at Zohar Law PLLC, a Manhattan-based immigration firm. “Ultimately, it depends on what the court is going to say.”

Zohar said that people with status have some stability, but that any individuals concerned with their status should ensure that they review and situate their documents.

“What I’ve been telling people is, if you have any way of filing for anything, do it now. Don’t wait. Don’t wait until next year. Definitely, this is the time to get something in because once you’re in an immigration process, it’s very hard to deport you,” he said. “Even if they do put you in removal proceedings, it’s going to be a long time before USCIS makes a decision on your case and then ultimately the immigration judge. So, it’s a way of kind of protecting yourself.”

Still, many of Zohar’s clients are experiencing significant distress due to their fear of deportation.

“For a lot of my clients it’s psychological torture because you’re here, you’re okay for now, but you never know when the next shoe is going to drop,” he said.

At the Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights (NMCIR), which provides resources and support to immigrants in NYC, executive director Christine L. Mendoza said they’ve seen an increasing number of community residents seeking legal services since the inauguration.

“We quickly found out that community members were rushing to get immigration related paperwork done that they’ve been putting off for a long time.”

Mendoza explained that filing of paperwork and holding consultations aren’t anything new to this community, as many immigrants have faced anxiety and uncertainty concerning their status for years. However, the rapid rollout of recent deportations under the Trump administration has triggered a more permeating wave of fear throughout the community.

Mendoza choked up as she described precautions community members can take if they are at risk of being deported.

“They have to carry IDs. They have to be identifiable. If not, they could become just another number in the deportation process,” she said. “If you receive a warrant from ICE, you do not have to answer the door or let anyone in.”

She continued, “Make sure you have an attorney’s phone number available in the case that this does happen and you’re inside, you can call them immediately. Also, have a plan in place for your family in case you are detained.”

Mendoza fears that if the immigration crackdown persists, livelihoods and communities will be severely disrupted.

“If you extract one whole part of our country and our society and our culture, the effects are long lasting, the effects are damaging. If one by one our neighbors start disappearing, it’s not only that person that disappeared that was deported that is impacted. “ she said. “That’s somebody’s son. That’s someone’s cousin. That’s someone’s neighbor. That person is a human and that person has value. So, there’s always going to be an impact.”

Planning the next step Back in Brooklyn, where both De Zilva and Coronato reside, they’re optimistic about building a future for Scrappack Productions.

Despite the uncertainty, the young women are staying career and goal-oriented, currently focused on securing more funding and venture capital for future projects.

“It’s a scary time and I’m taking it moment by moment and day by day and just focusing on what is the most productive thing that is within our control that we can focus on,” said Coronato.

While Scrappack remains a priority, extending her time in the U.S is equally important.

“We’ve decided that I’m still going to move forward with trying to change my visa to something that’s a little bit more stable. But at least now there’s a safety net, in case that doesn’t work out. There’s something really nice that I can keep for two more years.” said De Zilva.

Before the extension, De Zilva began the process of qualifying for an O-1 Visa, which is a travel document granted to individuals with, “extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who has a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements,” according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

While ambiguity remains for the pair, and for many immigrants like De Zilva, their dreams and passions keep them afloat.

“We can actually start planting seeds now that can grow because at least [there is a] foreseeable future,” said De Zilva.