Angelina Ilieva likes her life in the USA, where she has been since 1991 and has a successful career as a university professor. But Trump's second term changes everything. Gabriela Sevova meets the Bulgarian.
"Most people around me are worried. You can feel the tension", says Angelina Ilieva, who lives in one of the largest Bulgarian communities overseas, the one in the state of Illinois. She has lived in Chicago since 1996.
Today, she is a professor at the University of Chicago in the Department of “Slavic Languages and Literatures". However, after the start of President Donald Trump's second term, Ilieva's life began to change - both personally and professionally.
Science is under attack
"I have acquaintances who are world-class scientists with research laboratories and are worried about how they will continue their research because federal funding for research is decreasing, and in some cases it has been interrupted. You can't count on stability, and research takes a long time and has to be planned for years ahead," says Angelina Ilieva.
At the university where she teaches, several heads of research laboratories are already moving their research to France, Canada and other countries. Due to financial difficulties, layoffs are planned, mainly affecting the humanities. The university recently sent out a message requiring everyone to carry a copy of their immigration status documents: "It's not an ID card or a driver's license, it's a special document from the immigration authorities... For the first time since I've been in the US, I have to think about the fact that I could be stopped on the street by patrols and have to show proof of legal status," she says.
Changes in both universities and stores
In the first days of his entry into the White House, Trump attacked some of the most prestigious universities in the country, as he had threatened. In a video for his election campaign, published back in 2023, he said that the country's educational institutions were dominated by "maniacal Marxists and lunatics", and his "secret weapon" to deal with them will be the university accreditation system. Without the necessary credits, universities cannot participate in government funding programs.
Thus, the president's administration cut billions of dollars from key universities such as Harvard and Columbia University, but the University of Chicago, where the Bulgarian teaches, was also affected. She recalls that this is not the only sector affected: "There are many other professions, federal government workers for example, that are much more affected, so they can point to much more significant changes, but the change is also felt in universities."
Meanwhile, discussions about the political situation have become an inevitable part of Ilieva's daily life. "Most people around me are worried. You can feel the tension," she says. At the same time, financial uncertainty is growing: "Prices continue to rise, and a lot - from ordinary groceries to imported goods in Bulgarian stores. We drive a 20-year-old car and we were thinking of getting a newer one this year, but it's not clear whether we'll be able to afford it," explains the professor at the University of Chicago. "The irony is, of course, that many people voted for Trump because they believed he would improve the economy and lower prices, and the opposite happened."
"It's like martial law"
Chicago is the third largest city in the United States. There, as well as in Los Angeles, the federal immigration services (ICE) have launched mass actions to detain and deport people with illegal status. Such regulations are part of every government, but Angelina Ilieva recalls that they occur in a specific order that is determined by law. Those detained usually have criminal convictions or have violated their immigration obligations in some way, and deportation is carried out only after a judge's ruling.
"What is unprecedented now is that officers with masked faces, without presenting any documents themselves, with assault rifles and cars without license plates, are picking up people from the street without an arrest warrant, without even knowing what status these people have, based solely on how they look and where they are. There are American citizens who are detained and imprisoned because they did not look "like citizens", says Ilieva. She mentions cases in which people are taken out of their apartments at 2:00 a.m. and kept tied up for a long time, some even naked: "In addition, the building was left with broken doors and windows, and the action involved military armored vehicles, a combat helicopter, snipers - all this is as if there is martial law."
Ilieva recalls that it happens that detainees are not even deported to their own countries, but to third countries - for example, El Salvador or countries in Africa. In June, NPR reported on a man from Vietnam who was told 24 hours before his flight that he would actually be sent to South Sudan. In addition to being politically unstable, South Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world, and the State Department's website advises American citizens not to travel there due to "crime, kidnappings, and armed conflict." In such situations, the administration argues that the detainees' countries do not want to accept them, so they are sent to other countries. Time magazine recalled that in an interview with Trump in 2024, he said that his goal was to deport 15 million people. At that time, Trump announced that he was ready to use even the army for this purpose, although US law prohibits the deployment of soldiers on the territory of the country in peacetime.
Fear is ubiquitous, Angelina Ilieva also explains. "People who are in the US quite officially and legally and have been granted asylum because they are threatened in their own countries, such as those from Afghanistan who have cooperated with the US, now have lost their protected status and may be returned there," she explains. According to media reports and eyewitness accounts, many of those detained were not allowed to call their families or even a lawyer, and they were held for weeks, even months, in complete isolation.
Is Chicago a "war zone"?
The ICE actions in Chicago became the occasion for a series of riots and protests. President Trump described what was happening in the city as a "war zone" and sent in the National Guard. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker explicitly assured that there was no need for such measures and tried to block the deployment of the Guard, filing a lawsuit against the president's administration. Angelina Ilieva confirms that she does not know anyone in the city who agrees with Trump's statement.
"Very recently, readers of a tourism magazine voted for the ninth time and declared Chicago the most beautiful big city in the USA. Every time I walk Bulgarians, friends who have come to visit from other cities, they are impressed by how nice the city is, how beautiful and pleasant it is. Of course, this is in the more touristy and richer areas," the Bulgarian shares.
She adds that there are indeed problems with homeless people, thieves and scammers, which is typical of most large cities. "They report thefts of bags in public places. But this also happens in Bulgarian cities. Yes, there are areas where there is shooting, criminals with illegal guns. But it is definitely not a war zone," Ilieva is confident. "Unfortunately, lately it has become more like a war zone because of the presence of immigration patrols".
According to her, they walk the streets dressed like soldiers, with assault rifles and masks. They use tear gas and gas pistols against protesters without warning, even though they are legally required to give advance notice. She tells of an incident in front of a detention center for immigrants, where a priest was quietly saying a prayer. ICE gassed not only him, but also the Chicago police officers who were there to maintain order. Other curious situations include immigration patrol agents who were hired without a thorough background check despite their criminal records, and an army veteran who was detained for three days without explanation after his car window was smashed and gassed.
"Deported directly from their home"
If immigration services are acting randomly and without reasonable motive, it means that Bulgarians could be among those detained. Angelina Ilieva doesn't know any such people, but says that she has come across people on social media sharing tips on how to avoid problems if they encounter immigration officers.
"At the same time, however, there are also people who believe that those who come from Eastern Europe are more protected and are not exposed to the same risk. On the one hand, this is true, on the other hand, I know of two separate cases of people from Slovakia and the Czech Republic who overstayed their visas and were deported. A local newspaper wrote about the family from Slovakia that they were deported directly from their home, with neighbors telling how an unfinished lunch was left on the table in the apartment and the neighbors had to take care of their dog."
Will more Bulgarians return to their homeland?
The federal government is offering a sum of $1,000 and a free passenger flight for people who want to "self-deport". According to Bulgarian Angelina Ilieva, there may be some of her compatriots who are considering leaving the United States, especially if they are undocumented. "But leaving is not always easy. If a person has lived for many years and has a home, a job, and children, it is not easy to find a new job in another country, even if it is their homeland," she says.
And she adds: "All these people have "uprooted" once and gone through a difficult period of adaptation and settling down. This process takes a lot of mental strength, is associated with stress and uncertainty. For many people, it is difficult to go through such a period again, especially at a later age."