The recent uptick in the federal government's immigration enforcement measures have many families of undocumented immigrants worried, even though the number of deportations carried out by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) so far is only in the low triple digits.

But the mere fact that the Obama administration appears to be taking a tougher stance has led to a flurry of rumors among the estimated 11 million migrants who are in the United States on an irregular status, National Public Radio (NPR) reported.

Immigrants make contingency plans

Giovanni, an undocumented immigrant NPR identified only by his first name, for instance, told the radio network that he had already made contingency plans in case he were forced to leave the country. If that were to happen, he has made arrangements with his sister to care for his two sons, both U.S. citizens, Giovanni explained.

"I have a little money saved," he said. "The day I'm no longer here or something happens to me, I want you to give it to them."

In Gainesville, Georgia, meanwhile, a professor at the University of North Georgia contacted criminal defense lawyer Arturo Corso last week after several students had approached the instructor with concerns over recent DHS actions, the Gainesville Times noted.

"The people that are supposedly being targeted in these raids are people who already have an existing deportation order," Corso said.

'We run, but they still catch us'

But that fact is of little reassurance to many immigrant families in the Georgia community, the newspaper explained. "I think all the people have fear, mostly leaving their kids," resident Maria Calderon said in Spanish.

And Canido Savala, another Georgia resident, told the Gainesville Times that many undocumented immigrants felt it was just a question of time until they were forced to leave the United States.

"All we can do is wait till they catch us," she said. "We run, but they still catch us."

Despite the latest DHS operation, which kicked off at the end of 2015, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported fewer people last year than in 2014, according to the Boston Globe. The majority of those removed had been convicted of a crime, the department noted.