The regional secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, Paulo Estêvão, confirmed to DI that Azorean families who were in an irregular situation in the United States have already begun to return voluntarily to the region. These families are afraid of President Trump’s deportation policy, which could lead to detention in immigration centers and family separation.

The president of the New Bedford Immigrant Assistance Center, Helena da Silva Hughes, told the LUSA news agency that between 15 and 20 families have already returned by their own means. Paulo Estêvão said that the number could be “substantially” higher and assured that a survey will be conducted, cross-referencing data from schools and Social Security. “That’s what we’re going to do, but I can say for sure that there are more. A substantially higher number,” he told DI (Diário Insular newspaper).

The situation, he said, did not surprise the executive. “About a month ago, we reported that Azorean families were returning voluntarily. These are families who are in an irregular situation, have children, and know that they may be separated from those children. They may find themselves in a very difficult situation. They have chosen to return voluntarily; they are not being deported,” he emphasized.

The PSD/CDS-PP/PPM coalition regional government has obtained information through associations on the ground, but as these are not official communications, it has not received any official communication.

“We know through our partnerships with institutions and associations representing Azoreans in the US,” the regional secretary emphasized. The “deportations themselves,” the official noted, “have not been increasing.”

The executive has prepared a contingency plan to deal with possible Azoreans’ deportations, and a social support network has been set up for the Azores and the diaspora. To date, no requests for support have been received by the Regional Government. “These families are already integrated into larger households, are self-sufficient, and have not made any requests to us. We will respond to any requests we receive, but these returns are made after preparing the conditions in the Azores in advance,” said Estêvão.

The regional secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities stressed that “this does not mean that the situation will not change, but for now, it is not having any negative impact.” “Their integration into Azorean society is already planned,” he continued. He pointed out that the returns are mainly to São Miguel, followed by Terceira.

Helena da Silva Hughes told LUSA that “many people who have already bought plane tickets and left,” but also “many people who are preparing to leave and are just waiting for their children to finish the school year in June.”

Paulo Estêvão assured that he would continue to monitor the situation. “We have created this extended social support group, which involves the Azores Government and also institutions, so that we can support families already in the US. Families facing the greatest difficulties already have the support of these institutions, and we already have this structure in place and functioning as planned. We are prepared to respond in the US and continue in the Azores when necessary. But in this case, these are planned returns, where people gather their belongings and only then return,” he stressed.

In Diário Insular-José Lourenço, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.