People who need help after the mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, may not seek it out because of their immigration status, authorities fear. “This is a concern,” Juliette Kayyem, a former assistant secretary of the Homeland Security Department, told CNN. “It’s clear that there’s people that are not unifying with their family and that there are people they’re worried are injured that did not go to hospitals likely because of their immigration status.”

CNN reports that local officials in El Paso believe some mass shooting victims didn’t seek medical treatment because of their immigration status. America is in dire shape. pic.twitter.com/E68hiCN5H2 — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 3, 2019

LET THIS SINK IN FOR A MINUTE ===> There are concerns that families of some of the victims could be too afraid to go to the family reunification centers or hospitals searching for loved ones because of their immigration status and they are afraid they could suddenly be arrested — Ayman Mohyeldin (@AymanM) August 3, 2019

The Hope Border Institute, a grassroots group based in El Paso, has offered help to immigrants hurt in the shooting.

If you are afraid to contact the authorities regarding the shooting because of your immigration status, please contact Hope Border Institute and we will help you. #elpasoshooting — HopeBorderInstitute (@HopeBorder) August 4, 2019

Undocumented immigrants’ fears of seeking help from authorities would be well-founded. In 2017, immigration authorities detained an undocumented transgender woman in El Paso after she sought help from authorities because she was the victim of domestic violence.