An undocumented mother in Humboldt County needed to take her 2-year-old daughter to a medical appointment in San Francisco, but she couldn’t bring herself to make the journey. The thought of what could happen gave her panic attacks. She might get questions about her insurance. If she reached out for transportation, she could be asked about her legal status. Any person she talked to could jeopardize her safety. Her daughter could be taken away from her.
After hearing her story, Centro del Pueblo’s Executive Director Brenda Perez realized the innate fear felt by many members of Humboldt’s immigrant community following the 2016 election had revived under President Donald Trump’s return to office.
“The separation of families is playing the biggest role right now [in] impacting our mental health, so accessing other places is out of the map for our communities,” Perez said.
Centro del Pueblo’s new health fund, Mano Amiga-Helping Hand, launched July 1 as a part of the nonprofit advocacy group’s health and wellness services. Along with providing grants to help cover emergency medical needs in the undocumented community, the fund also helps approved applicants with access to food, transportation to medical appointments, translation services and accompaniment by community members for moral support.
The initial funding was provided by an anonymous donor with concerns about their community’s ability to access health services in Humboldt. Some of the funds have already been distributed, with about 60 percent of the original seed money still available, according to Perez. Applications can be accessed through Centro del Pueblo’s website or social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook.
“It is a small gesture of collective care in difficult moments — an act of dignity and support when it is needed most,” the Mano Amiga application form reads. “Centro del Pueblo is proud to be that helping hand, extended with both love and respect.”
On Jan. 1, 2024, California became the first state to offer Medi-Cal for undocumented immigrants. That offer was rescinded at the end of June this year, when Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature agreed to freeze new enrollments for adults without documentation.
“I still have fresh in my memory when Medi-Cal was announced for everyone, and there was joy, there was celebration — a sense that we needed. The community was finally covered in an essential human right, which was health coverage,” Perez said. “That was not too long ago, and we have now these threatening images of ICE agents going to hospitals, not respecting what is supposed to be a sanctuary space.”
ICE agents have been making routine visits to medical facilities in California, according to media reports, after the Trump administration started large-scale deportation operations across the country. Humboldt County established a sanctuary ordinance in 2018, one year after Arcata, and the city of Eureka declared itself a sanctuary city back in March. However, while sanctuary laws limit what local law enforcement can share with ICE agents, they cannot prevent the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
Centro del Pueblo’s Chief Financial Officer and Advanced Director William Dirks says he has seen the fear of deportation permeate every aspect of undocumented people’s lives.
“People are terrified to go to the hospital, to go to the doctor, to go to work, to take the kids to school,” Dirks said. “Any sort of thing that a citizen might think or take for granted is a source of fear or danger for the immigrant community.”
Mano Amiga’s fund coincides with Centro del Pueblo’s other advocacy programs like Know Your Rights outreach, the support group Hermana Flor, the Sanctuary Garden and its Rapid Response Network, which seeks to empower community members to observe and document, but not interfere with, potential immigration enforcement actions in Humboldt.
“We take care of people’s mental health. We provide them with fresh food, we give them an opportunity to express themselves,” Dirks says. “And prevention is key in this area, so all our programs are intertwined to create this response that is preventative and creates opportunities for people to grow and to feel healthy.”
Perez says she considers Mano Amiga to be an intention and a vessel for collaboration between donors and the community members offering their support, with the mission of Mano Amiga extending beyond an initial contribution into a prioritization of community-based healing. She notes how a community member who received funds for a medical emergency passed away a few weeks later and Centro del Pueblo continues to follow up with and support their family members.
“Mano Amiga is not only in that case of a hospital, in that case of that sickness … because sickness affected the entire family system,” Perez says. “So the family now is going to receive all the support of our community in many, many ways.”
Dirks reports that donations are coming in to Mano Amiga and other facets of Centro del Pueblo’s outreach and services, noting he and Perez are grateful for the overwhelming support from community members and government organizations in Humboldt.
“We really appreciate how strong the community is here, and how supportive they are of everybody from diverse backgrounds and lives, and it’s been really respectful,” Dirks says.
Centro del Pueblo plans to start other health services through Mano Amiga, including doula trainings for women of color. They also hope to continue funding Mano Amiga and their other programs through fundraising events and contributions from community members. Perez urges those who want to contribute to listen to undocumented immigrants and ask how they want to receive support. She hopes that Mano Amiga will help combat the mental health impacts of the current political landscape for future generations.
“It’s unfortunate we have to face this again and again,” Perez says. “But at least Mano Amiga, at this year, is going to be something that is going to grow, and we are going to observe as a preventive, protective practice for the future.” l
Griffin Mancuso is a freelance writer based in Humboldt County.
This article appears in Double the Drama.