TAMPA - New federal data shows more than 2 million undocumented immigrants have left the U.S. this year under the Trump administration, including roughly 527,000 deportations and another 1.6 million self-deportations, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Animal welfare groups in the Tampa Bay area say that wave has had a heartbreaking ripple effect: hundreds of pets left behind when families are forced to go.

At Mercy Full Project, founder Heydi Acuna says her rescue is fielding desperate calls from owners who can no longer care for their animals — and from neighbors who find them abandoned.

"We have these families contacting us to see how we can help because they don’t have a place for the animals," Acuna said. "It’s a crisis we were not expecting."

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