Many undocumented families describe their lives as living in the shadows since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Mixed-status families who have called Chicago home for decades are feeling the impact of Trump’s promise to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.

WTTW News interviewed two mothers who are undocumented and shared their experiences. To protect their identities, their names were changed.

“It’s really heartbreaking because of our children,” said Rosa, who has two young children. “It feels like we have to have them locked in at home, and they don’t understand what’s going on.”

“He (Trump) said that he is only targeting criminals, but you never know when you might be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Sandra, a mother of four.

With schools no longer off limits for immigration enforcement, it leaves undocumented parents like Rosa and Sandra questioning whether to take their children to school.

“We got a message from school that we shouldn’t be scared,” Sandra said. “They might be safe inside, but the fear is when we go pick them up.”

Some parents and staff at Chicago Public Schools have reported an increase in student absences due to fears surrounding ICE.

A spokesperson for CPS said the district is implementing protocols to support families in case ICE agents appear at schools.

In a statement, CPS said: “The District will continue to refrain from collecting information about the immigration status of individual students or their families and will continue to support the City of Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance.”

Chicago’s sanctuary city status means local police officers are prohibited from helping federal immigration agents with deportations.

However, for mothers like Sandra, who has four children who are American citizens, the thought of leaving her 17-year-old son to care for his siblings has been difficult to accept.

“I feel his fear of something happening to his siblings if his parents are not here,” Sandra said. “He’s now thinking about how he will be able to take care of them and that brings me sadness.”

With a lack of information on how many people have been detained by ICE, Susana Salgado, the youth director for an immigrant service organization, said the current ICE crackdowns are creating fear and trauma.

“It seems like it’s a rollercoaster because every day we have to wake up to something new,” Salgado said. “What’s happening today? What are we up against? What do we need to advocate for?”

Centro Romero on Chicago’s North Side provides legal services but has also served as an after-school program for kids. Salgado said the center has seen a decline in student attendance.

“19% of our attendance has decreased because of the fear of coming to a center where it serves immigrants and the fear of ICE coming or being outside waiting for people,” Salgado said.

Salgado said that fear has created devastating impacts that go far beyond the decline in after-school participation.

“I feel scared that it has opened the doors for people to be OK with violence and be OK with racism,” Salgado said. “Before, if my neighbor didn’t like me, he wouldn’t say anything, but now it’s an open door for that.”

The logo outside the center says, “No human being is illegal.” It’s a message these two mothers share.

“People don’t understand what it’s like to live in the shadows,” Sandra said.

“We all have rights, especially when we don’t do anything bad and we’re just like anyone else, we’re here to work,” Rosa said.

For years, advocates have raised questions about the lack of initiatives from the U.S. government to provide a streamlined path to citizenship for families who have spent decades building their lives in the U.S.

Many are now living in fear of facing deportation to countries they left behind.

“People who have so many years here, it’s only fair that they get something in return because we give a lot to this country and help grow the economy,” Rosa said.

Some alderpeople and Chicago Teachers Union members are calling on CPS to do more to keep schools safe for students and their families.

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