Deportation fears grip immigrants after Trump's election

PHOENIX (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump launched his candidacy on an anti-immigrant sentiment and has vowed to repeal a key Obama administration program that shields hundreds of thousands of people from deportation.

Now, many immigrants in the country illegally, or with relatives who are, fear deportation and separation from their families.

In immigrant-heavy areas like Los Angeles and Phoenix, activists are scrambling to provide informational meetings for immigrants to help them protect themselves from deportation. Others want legal immigrants to apply for citizenship so they can eventually obtain legal status for relatives.

"The more we can naturalize people and stabilize our families and root our communities the better," said Julio Perez, executive director of California's Orange County Labor Federation, which is sponsoring naturalization events in response to the election.