In a Portland Press Herald article about the increased presence of federal immigration authorities in Maine, Ithaca College associate professor Donathan Brown said that controversial enforcement methods alongside hostile political rhetoric can affect even immigrants with legal documentation or citizenship.
Brown, an expert on race, rhetoric and public policy who teaches in the Department of Communication Studies in the college’s School of Humanities and Sciences, told the newspaper that research shows that Latino immigrants have begun to avoid medical care, police and other services.
“When you find yourself in such a politically hostile environment, fear permeates into your everyday actions and reactions,” Brown said. “Keep in mind that some of this fear is well-founded when one considers the increasing number of workplace raids and ‘roundups’ conducted under this administration.”