SOMERVILLE — The speakers grew up all over the world. A musician from Mozambique. A mother who fled Syria. A professor who once called France home. A consultant who spent her formative years in India.
But it was those who weren’t at the Somerville Theatre on Sunday afternoon — for a program created to foster community through stories of global migration — who perhaps best crystallized the current political moment for immigrants in the United States.
A trio of storytellers slated to perform at the program, called Suitcase Stories, pulled out of the festivities, citing concerns about ongoing federal anti-immigrantaction and rhetoric.
“The climate right now is such a heightened level of anxiety,’’ said Cheryl Hamilton, executive director of Stellar Story Company, one of the organizers behind the event.
Concern and panic have rocked immigrant communities in recent weeks following anti-immigrant rhetoric from President Trump and his administration. Last week, the Trump administration unveiled plans to create a registry for all people who are undocumented in the United States, saying that those who don’t self-report could face fines or prosecution.
Administration “border czar’’ Tom Homan said on Fox News recently that he would visit Boston soon. Homan previously blasted Massachusetts officials, claiming that state law enforcement was not carrying out its responsibilities to arrest people who are in the country illegally.
One of the events speakers, Purnima Thakre, an organizational coach who grew up in Mumbai and came to the United States to earn her MBA, said she has avoided the news for her own sanity.
“Everyone is scared,’’ said the Natick resident.
Another program speaker, Albino Mbie, a Cambridge resident, grew up in Mozambique and moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music. He said he thought it was time for Americans to urge their government to have a “clear direction’’ regarding immigration.
“These are very challenging times,’’ he said.
Steph Dalwin, a stand-up comic who grew up the daughter of a Vietnamese immigrant in Lexington, said, “universal differences don’t have to push people in, they can welcome people.’’ Immigration authorities raided her cousin’s nail salon recently, she said, and Dalwin feared the country was becoming more isolationist.
“I don’t think it’s going to benefit us,’’ she said.
Zainab Abdo came to the United States as a Syrian refugee in 2016. Learning English and finding a job were chief among her challenges, she said. She has many relatives in Turkey who are waiting to come to the country, but she is concerned the Trump administration will complicate that process.
“I feel sad,’’ she said of the situation.
Jeffrey Thielman, the chief executive for the International Institute of New England, an organizer behind Sunday’s event, spoke of the importance of engaging and welcoming immigrants.
“This is a fundamental part of who we are and if we stop doing that, we’re going to lose our soul,’’ he said.
Danny McDonald can be reached at daniel.mcdonald @globe.com.
