I am a Latin American bracing for Trump's mass deportation of migrants | Close up | Digital series

Jorge Paz Reyes still remembers the feeling of the first few months of fifth grade after arriving in the United States from Honduras with his mother and three sisters. The correction was difficult.

“I cried every morning. To the point that my mother got tired of me,” he says, reflecting on their conversation. “She sat me down and said, 'Jorge, you can't cry all the time. I can't come and pick you up from school every day or I won't be able to feed you.'

Jorge, now an activist and member of the Mixteca community—an organization that provides free health and education services to New York's immigrant community—grew up in New York as an undocumented child. Today, he is a permanent resident and is applying for citizenship through a special program for minors. But several of his relatives remain undocumented and fear deportation under the incoming administration. “I have someone really close to me who is undocumented and I could lose her because of Donald Trump,” Jorge says, referring to President-elect Donald Trump's promise of mass deportations.

Trump's campaign promise to remove up to 12 million undocumented migrants has sparked widespread fear and anxiety, especially among the millions of people who have been in the US for years and built careers, communities and families. Since his election victory last November, Trump has discussed using the US military to enforce his deportation plan, even declaring a national emergency if necessary.

For activists like Jorge, who live and work closely with immigrant communities, that promise has turned into palpable fear. Watch our latest Up close episode “Trump's Deportation Nation” to see how community members like Jorge prepare for the possibility of mass deportation.

Director: Timey Arvidson

Producer: Leo Hamelin

Cinematography: Daniel Vergara

Additional Camera: Eric Arthur Fernandez, Nick Midwig

Screenwriter: Tierney Bonini

Editor: Antonia Perello, Catherine Hallinan

Executive Producer: Tierney Bonini

Senior Editor: Donald Cameron