JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Families in Jacksonville are living in fear following national news of raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the state and federal crackdown on illegal immigration. 

This is according to a Jacksonville immigration attorney who said families are afraid to even go to the grocery store for fear of being questioned by an immigration official. While some people worry about the consequences of this, others believe immigration reform is incredibly needed.

“People are very scared,” said Anny Leon, a Jacksonville immigration attorney.

Leon said several of her clients who are asylum seekers and are going through the process for it are now getting detained. She said the majority of the people the illegal immigration crackdown is affecting are families.

“They pay their taxes, they send their children to school, they open businesses, they try to do the best that they can and now they’re living in absolute fear,” said Leon.

Leon expects attendance in schools to be impacted and said people are worried about what happens to their children if they, the parents, are detained.

“Do you go to the grocery store and risk yourself being detained and taken away from your family?” she said. “Or do you not eat? Do you call somebody to do it for you? You know, what do you do? It’s definitely difficult right now.”

First Coast News also spoke with Karyn Morton, the state vice chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus.

“When you really get to the human side of immigration, there’s a lot of things that are going to be heartaches, there just is,” said Morton.

Morton said she understands this, but supports the immigration reform.

“You came here illegally and whether it’s today or whether it’s next month or whether it’s next year, eventually you’ve got to go back,” she said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows last year, besides illegal entry, most convictions of criminal noncitizens were for driving under the influence (more than 2,800) and fewer than 30 were for homicide or manslaughter. Still, Morton said she worries about people who are in the country illegally committing crimes.

“It is happening in Florida and we have to protect our own citizens,” Morton said. “It is America first. It has to be America first.”

Leon said people who are in the country legally and are worried about ICE raids should carry a copy of their legal papers. She said ICE must have a warrant to enter a private business.

First Coast News reached out to local school districts and spokespeople from Duval and St. Johns Counties said there have not been any ICE-related incidents at their schools.

On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promised to veto a sweeping immigration bill in the latest escalation of a statehouse showdown between the governor and the state’s Republican legislative leadership.

Chairman of the Republican Party of Duval County, Charles Barr, commented on the situation saying in part of a statement Wednesday: “I am confident that the strongest possible immigration policies will become law in Florida despite the political and personal differences currently at play.”