They backed Trump. Then Border Patrol arrested their neighbor. What now?

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump vowed the “mass deportation” of immigrants would be a centerpiece of his administration. At the time, it looked like a winner: Polls found majority support for mass deportation of undocumented immigrants (though not without complications).But the reality of Trump’s immigration enforcement policies has caused Americans’ support to tank.

The fight over immigration enforcement in Democratic strongholds like Minneapolis has gotten the most attention. But rural areas — many of which voted overwhelmingly for Trump — are not immune. One of them is the tiny town of Froid, Montana.

In January, the arrest of a beloved mechanic, Roberto Orozco-Ramirez, by immigration agents roiled the 195-person town. Residents were surprised to see the national immigration crackdown extend beyond big cities like Minneapolis and Chicago. 

“They believed Trump’s policy to be about arresting the worst of the worst — criminals, gang members, things like that,” Nora Mabie, a reporter at the Montana Free Press, told Today, Explained. “And in this town where everybody knows everybody, it’s an example of the tension between the personal and the political and what happens to a community when they vote one way, but then a personal experience forces them to confront their beliefs.”

Today, Explained co-host Noel King spoke with Mabie to learn more about Orozco-Ramirez, how residents of Froid have responded to his arrest, and what it tells us about how Americans are thinking about Trump’s immigration policies. Below is an excerpt of their conversation, edited for length and clarity. There’s much more in the full episode, including interviews with Froid residents, so listen to Today, Explained wherever you get podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and Spotify.

Tell me about this man, Mr. Orozco.

He is a 42-year-old father of four. He has lived in Froid, Montana, for more than a decade, long enough to build his own diesel shop where he fixes semi trucks, school buses, tractors, and really provides an invaluable service to farmers in the area. He’s also a Little League coach and he came to the US at some point illegally. Court documents say that in 2009 he was removed by ICE and deported. At some point he came back.

On January 25, Orozco-Ramirez was arrested by Border Patrol. In the complaint it documents that officers, wearing plain clothes and in unmarked vehicles, came to his diesel shop and knocked on the door. Later when I was talking with his sons, they said their dad was immediately suspicious of this because people never knock on the door. This is a place where people just walk in. So he was suspicious and he ended up kind of closing the door on them. That’s what his wife says. 

The complaint also alleges he yelled at them on their way out. And as they were in their car driving away, it says he threw a two-by-six piece of lumber in their direction. And that’s what led ultimately to a charge of threatening a federal officer. That’s something his family disputes. 

People were shocked. They were surprised to see the national immigration crackdown extend beyond big cities like Minneapolis and Chicago and reach this tiny corner of the state. They said they believed Trump’s policy to be about arresting the worst of the worst — criminals, gang members, things like that. And in this town where everybody knows everybody, it’s an example of the tension between the personal and the political and what happens to a community when they vote one way, but then a personal experience forces them to confront their beliefs.

So this is a town where you know something’s up if someone knocks at your door because it’s so tight-knit that normally people just walk on in. How do people in this tiny, tight-knit town react when they learn this man is now in the custody of Border Patrol?

For people in town, this is the first time they are learning about Roberto’s status. A lot of people told me they didn’t know he was here illegally. You know, they just thought of him as their friend and their neighbor. And yeah, when they hear that he was deported once, it does bring up some complicated thoughts.

Some people are saying, “Rules are rules, you know, he should have followed the rules and done the path to obtain citizenship.” But that’s [where] his sons, you know, wish more people would understand that gaining legal citizenship in the US is not that easy.

Obviously people feel very strongly about this man, their neighbor. How do they feel about immigration enforcement happening in their little town?

Some people told me that people really support Trump here, but that they don’t necessarily support him because of his immigration policies. The issues that are important to people here are the economy and things that affect farming or even oil. 

I did talk to this man in the bar. He said he really likes what Trump’s doing at the border, and he likes that policy. But when I asked him about what he thought of Roberto, he said he thought Roberto should have the opportunity to pursue legal citizenship.

It’s interesting to see these really conflicting beliefs on display. People are not pro or con on this issue, they’re mostly mixed, which is another thing that makes this story so interesting. You know what really struck me is 14 of these community members, which is a pretty significant percentage of the town’s population, drove seven hours one way to Roberto’s initial hearing. And that hearing only lasted eight minutes. And then I just watched them as they huddled after the hearing, they hugged each other, some people cried, and then they got back in their cars and drove home.

We were reading your story and someone in the comments said something along the lines of people were happy to vote for the Trump immigration policy in theory, but then they realized how it actually affects them and affects their neighbors. Does that feel like what you saw?

In Froid, people do not really like talking about politics and division. I even spoke with the mayor, who said we’re too close-knit for that — if you say the wrong thing or upset someone, your business could totally go under. You need your neighbors in this town. So I didn’t quite hear people saying that they would change their vote. And when I talked to some community members, they said they weren’t sure. 

But then some people said Trump signs that were displayed in people’s yards in the neighborhood have come down in the last few days. And then the Orozco boys also said they saw on Facebook at least one comment from someone saying they were sorry that they voted for Trump.

What do you think this story from this small town tells us about the political moment we’re in more broadly?

I think it’s shown that these immigration policies that the Trump administration is implementing have affected almost everybody. If they are stretching to this tiny rural town where this man has lived for 10 years without problem, and really riling up this community and neighboring communities, I think it just shows the ubiquity of this crackdown and also the ripple effects from it. 

If Roberto ends up detained for a long time or if he is deported, a family will lose their father, people will lose their friend and neighbor, [and] a lot of farmers will suffer in this area by losing their mechanic. And the mayor even said the local economy will take a big hit. There’s not a lot of businesses in the area.

Many people across the country are grappling with the really difficult consequences of Trump’s immigration policies. And I think the big question is, how will this change, or will this change, how they vote, and will it change their politics in the future?