Regulations issued by President Donald Trump to Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices are chilling.
All undocumented people working and living in the U.S. are now legally deportable. This includes not only “the bad guys” with criminal records but millions of hard-working, taxpaying undocumented immigrants who have contributed greatly to the economy of this country.
All people in this country have constitutional rights. Trump’s goal is to take away the right to a hearing in preparation for mass deportations. He has increased the budget for Homeland Security to $3 billion from our taxes. He has expanded the number of ICE agents to 25,000 on the border. Thirty percent of these are veterans of the war in Iraq who were trained to kill, not to arrest and deport.
“Expedited removal” is the law allowing ICE to pick up and deport without giving access to a hearing or a lawyer. Under former President Barack Obama, expedited removals were limited to those caught within two miles of the Mexican border. Now, there are no limits. All can be deported wherever they are found, and if they cannot prove they have been here for eight years (on the spot), they can be deported with no legal hearing.
Two-thirds of those detained are not able to access lawyers. Those who can afford a lawyer or have access to legal aid have seven times the opportunity to be released from detention.
The movement by city police chiefs to disassociate from any cooperation with ICE is admirable. In a raid several weeks ago in Santa Cruz, ICE agents lied to local police when they promised they had warrants. During the raid, they emptied an entire apartment building and detained law abiding, innocent people who were there. The mayor and police chief apologized to the community and said it would not happen again.
ICE has also misrepresented themselves as “police officers,” and thus gained access to homes where they could not enter without a warrant. They question people who do not know their rights and get them to sign them away.
The state of California is asking for regular reports on their raids and the daily publication of people detained, which ICE has refused to do. These refusals by ICE are illegal.
What can we do to help the terrified undocumented in our area? Having the police pledge not to cooperate with ICE is one step. Educating the people who are frightened about their rights is a priority. We can arrange for public Know Your Rights workshops through Siren and the Asian Law Center. We can educate ourselves to educate all the undocumented we know or meet.
Can we organize to form groups that will intercept these ICE raids? Nothing works better than bad publicity from newspapers and radio stations.
Which churches and homes in our areas will be willing to be sanctuary places for a family? Have we educated our teachers and principals about ICE coming to schools?
If we work together in true community we can bring back constitutional rights to all.
Natasha Wist is a former school psychologist and family therapist with 31 years experience. Since retiring, she has volunteered teaching immigrant women in Morgan Hill. For many years, she has been active in peace and justice movements in Morgan Hill and San Jose.
