Deportations are common, many are afraid to go out, go to school or work, however, there are civil associations, media outlets and activists who are informing the immigrant community to let them know their rights. The most important thing is to remain calm and not be intimidated.
More than 200 thousand supposedly undocumented people have been detained in the last 30 days, According to data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). At least 8,000 people have been deported, experts reported during a briefing held by the Ethnic Media Services.
ICE has been instructed to detain at least 1,200 to 1,500 people a day; the countries of origin with the highest number of deportees were South and Central America, but immigration agency data shows significant numbers of detentions of Indians, Chinese and Russians.
Attorney Amanda Alvarado-Ford of the Bay Area Immigration Institute explained that when faced with an arrest, the first thing to do is not to panic, because regardless of immigration status, you have the right to remain silent. This allows you to protect your statements and give time for a legal process.
If you are an undocumented person and have been in the United States for more than 2 years, you have the right to a hearing.
It is also important to have essential documentation on hand on your cell phone, and you should also share with people close to you documents that can protect you, such as an asylum application for certain conditions, which explains that there is a pending process.
In the case of arrests in workplaces, arrests are permitted in public areas of the workplace, but not in private areas, which is why it is important to determine these spaces, the lawyer said.
Maru Mora-Villalpando, an immigration activist with the group La Resistencia and executive director of Latino Advocacy, explained that her group works in detention centers, which are highly flawed because of poor conditions.
He regretted that there is no real complaints system, so no one is listened to when presenting their grievances. In the detention centers, people live in poor hygiene conditions, even wearing dirty clothes, which causes illness, and there is little medical care.
He added that previously the detainees themselves were forced to clean, however, this was illegal, since such work must be paid for. Now, the service must be paid for, which is why there has been a great lack of hygiene, with highly contagious diseases circulating.
Viridiana Carrizales, founder of ImmSchools, said that she arrived as an immigrant to a very complicated school environment, which is why she seeks to create safe spaces in the educational field.
Currently, due to fear of being detained, many children have left school to stay safe. Parents need to know that their immigration status cannot be questioned in order for their children to attend school, and special protocols are being implemented to protect students and their families, Carrizales said.
“Our students have certain protections under the Constitution, but in schools there is a measure from 1982 that says that all children in this country, regardless of their immigration status or the immigration status of their parents, have the legal right to be in school, that is why we have 5.5 million children in schools who are undocumented,” added the activist.
Oscar Sarabia Roman, an attorney with the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, said that immigrants who entered through political asylum cannot return to their countries of origin because they would put their lives at risk. People in legal proceedings have the right to be treated before being deported.
He also said that they are working on the protection of some laws, with lawsuits, counter-suits and various sectors to protect the rights of the immigrant community.
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