If the first two weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency tell us anything, it’s that the president is serious about his “mass deportation” plan.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids have already been reported in major U.S. cities, and here in Kansas City, many immigrants feel uncertain and concerned about their futures.
“People are terrified, and rightly so,” says Christy Moreno, chief advocacy and impact officer at Revolución Educativa, a Latino advocacy non-profit that works in the education realm.
The organization in the Historic Northeast has an assistance line called AyudaKC that community members can call, and Moreno says the organization has been inundated with questions from concerned parents who are now terrified to send their children to school.
Trump just ended a well-established policy that restricted federal agents from making immigration arrests at schools, churches and hospitals.
“Schools have promised to be the safest place for children,” says Moreno. “However, we have yet to see many school districts actually communicate with the responsibility that they're required to.”
The Trump administration says it’s focusing on deporting migrants who present a public safety threat. However, Angela Ferguson, a Kansas City immigration attorney and partner at Austin & Ferguson, says all undocumented and foreign-born residents need to be on high alert.
“Everyone is fair game,” she says. “I think they would say that anyone undocumented is a criminal, which is not true, but that’s the perception that this administration has.”
No raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have been confirmed yet in Kansas City, but Ferguson says “they’re coming, any day now.”
Moreno says it’s important to remember that Kansas City’s immigrant communities have been through this before, and that are actions they can take to be prepared.
“Many parents are pulling out their old paperwork, their old powers of attorney, taking them back to notaries, taking them back to their attorneys to create new documents,” she says. “We are making sure to communicate with families about how they need to prepare.”
Many of the families Rev Ed serves are mixed-status and have different levels of citizenship status. For this reason, Moreno says “every family needs a very distinctive plan.”
It’s also important to know that all individuals in the U.S. have civil rights regardless of their immigration status. Here’s what Ferguson and Moreno want people to know about defending your rights if stopped by ICE:
- Don’t run, lie or carry fake documents with you.
- If you are a U.S. citizen and have lawful immigration status, carry your documents on you and show them to the officers.
- If you are here in the U.S. without legal status, you have the right to remain silent and are suggested to keep your silence.
- If an ICE officer shows up at your house, don’t open the door. They need to have a warrant to get inside.
- If you are comfortable, videotape the interaction in the ACLU’s Mobile Justice App, which will automatically send the file to the ACLU for review.
- Don’t post unverified information on social media or put yourself in harm’s way.
Visit the National Immigration and Justice Center and Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation (AIRR) for more information and training on your rights.
- Christy Moreno, chief advocacy and impact officer at Revolución Educativa
- Angela Ferguson, partner at Austin & Ferguson, board member at Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation (AIRR)