Mayor Buttigieg addresses immigration concerns after executive order

Mayor Pete Buttigieg spoke to Hispanic immigrants in their own language Thursday.

At Radio Sabor Latino, the mayor addressed concerns after President Donald Trump’s immigration executive order.

Julian Alcantar conducted the radio interview, and says after the order cracking down on immigration, he’s scared for undocumented members of his own family.

“Most of our family is in that position. It’s an issue that involves a lot of our community in the area,” Alcantar said.

That’s exactly what Buttigieg wanted to discuss.

“They’re wondering whether they belong, and my message is everybody belongs,” Buttigieg said.

The mayor says this promise means South Bend police won’t be searching out undocumented immigrants.

“Our police have a very different job than any kind of federal authorities, and we’re not just going to do their job for them,” Buttigieg said.

When non-citizens do run into police, they can now prove who they are with South Bend identification cards.

The program was started at La Casa de Amistad about a month ago.

“We’ve processed almost 250 cards and we have almost 250 appointments right now to do cards,” Sam Centellas, director of La Casa de Amistad said.

While the ID cards and reassurance don’t give Alcantar or his listeners all the answers, he says this does give him hope.

“That will really help us all just kind of all, just really know what to expect,” Alcantar said.