Immigrant rights groups respond to mass deportation threat
Facing the threat of mass deportations, local immigrant rights groups are stepping up their rapid response activities to protect vulnerable community members.
President-Elect Trump’s threat to deport millions of people, including those with legal status, is causing fear among Northern Virginia’s immigrant communities. People are afraid to enroll their children in school or go the hospital because they don’t want to give their names and addresses.
Know your rights
It’s always been important for undocumented immigrants to understand their rights, but it’s even more crucial now, the leaders of immigrant advocacy organizations said at a forum Dec. 6 in Annandale sponsored by the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations.
Trump plans to carry out “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history,” attack birthright citizenship, bar undocumented children from schools, and again forcibly separate children from their parents at the border.
“There’s so much work to do. It seems really daunting,” said Edgar Lara, director of community engagement at Sin Barreras (Without Borders), an organization based in Charlottesville.
Lara and other advocates spoke about the need to educate immigrants about their rights and what to do if ICE agents come to their home or workplace.
“People who are struggling, who are vulnerable, who are targeted, need our help,” Lara said. “We need to come together and build community.”
Rapid response
Sin Barreras has a rapid response hotline, a local response team that shows up at ICE actions, and legal resources for immigrants, he said.
ICE will initially go after people they can easily identify, such as those in the justice system, but Trump has also threatened to deport immigrants with protected status, said Sophia Gregg, senior immigrant rights attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia.
The two detention centers in Virginia for adult males – in Caroline County and Farmville – are at about 65 percent of capacity but could fill up quickly if the government ramps up deportations, Gregg said. There’s also a juvenile center for unaccompanied minors in Winchester.
Gregg suspects a growing demand for space for detainees will spur the growth of open-air encampments with tents surrounded by tall fences.
She encourages local governments and school districts to establish trust policies that define what information about undocumented individuals they are willing to share or not share with the police.
“When ICE comes to the door, they use lies, they use fear. They also use tactics that might kill us,” said Julio Hernandez, executive director of the Congregation Action Network. “We’re going down a road that’s really dangerous.”
Emergency packets
He advises families worried about being detained to have emergency packets with documents from previous immigration cases, medical needs, doctor contacts, financial information, and contact information for a trusted adult authorized to pick up their children from school.
It’s also important to train school staff on immigrants’ rights. They need to know that they don’t have to give out parents’ contact information, said John Cano, senior supervising organizer with the Legal Aid Justice Center.
Cano urges advocates to develop a map of the indigenous languages spoken in their communities. “Having resources in Spanish doesn’t reach all people.”
There are lots of things citizens can do to help their vulnerable neighbors, Hernandez said. They can drive people to a deportation hearing or help them prepare an emergency plan. “You don’t have to be a lawyer to educate people on their rights.”
“You can just check in with your neighbors to see what they need,” he said. “A lot of this work is about showing up.”
It’s also important to understand cultural differences, Hernandez said, noting that in his home county, El Salvador, people learn not to question authority.
“We are all human first and foremost. That’s where we begin,” he said. “Sadly, there are people who believe we are not.”
“The number-one priority is protecting the children,” Cano said. “Love and compassion go a long way.”
17 responses to “Immigrant rights groups respond to mass deportation threat”
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How is Trump deporting legal immigrants? I must have missed that. Lol. 6th gen American- maybe I should start packing.
Based on a basic web search and also just paying attention, he is looking at revoking Humanitarian Parole, Temporary Protected Status, and more recently has said that he would deport legal immigrants (including citizens) who are domiciled with illegal immigrants (ie: children). During his first administration, he yanked legal status to groups that had legally immigrated decades ago under various humanitarian situations. Also during his first term, he started a whole program of trying to de-naturalize people “suspected” of having committed fraud on their citizenship applications. Who knows what makes them suspect, but he wants to “turbocharge” that in his next term. It’s a court procedure that is costly, even if you win your case and aren’t denaturalized. It’s another scheme to use the workings of the government to harass and abuse people.
Based on your LOL, I’m guessing you don’t care. But this is all going to be shockingly inhumane and distressing even for bystanders.
Both programs you mentioned are temporary relief. Those individuals are supposed to go back to their home country at some point. More over, both Dems and GOP Presidents have abused them. For example they are supposed to be individual case based but have been applied to class of people. The programs were always meant to be short term relief, not a path to permanent residency.
He said he wants to retroactively end birthright citizenship, so legal citizens will be deported. Of course that won’t apply apply to his kids, most of which were born to an immigrant mother.
Very true. Ask Trump to deport his kids. Has he forgotten four of his kids were born to immigrant wives. Maybe the immigrants he would like to deport are of the wrong complexion.
It will take a constitutional amendment to actually implement this. Attempts will be made assuredly, but 200+ years of law and court precedent will slow down any effort.
According to exit polls, Latinos, especially Latino men, turned out in spades to vote for Trump. This is what they want, this is what they voted for. I heard far less rhetoric from Trump and his ilk on the over 1 million immigrants here on student visas. We all know who their “mass deportations now” signs were directed at.
These activist groups should have worked in their communities to get out the vote for politicians that are not promising to deport them, in all states. I will not be marching, donating, or volunteering on their behalf. They knowingly voted for a dangerous demagogue to the detriment of all of us. I voted for Harris, I voted to keep the train on the rails. I support common sense immigration reform and lessening of immigration from all sources, not mass deportations.
Your name says it all LEGAL AID. This is good for legal residents. ILLEGALS are not residents. They are invaders into this country. They need to go elsewhere. Pick another country not the United States.
:: The 574 Indian and Alaskan native tribes have entered the chat ::
Every country on earth has been taken by force… humans have fought each other for land since the beginning of time. Grow up.
If you came here legally, you have no need for concern. If you overstayed your visa, crossed the border without permission, failed to register as a temporary visitor to our country, then yes you should be concerned. For once we have a chief executive that is going to enforce the laws that are on the books and will use the federal law enforcement agencies to do so. Please, come to America, just do it using the pathways that we have laid out for you to come. If you are unwilling to do so, then don’t come.
He promised in 2016 to deport every illegal alien, but didn’t manage to do so.
So, I wouldn’t get my hopes up.
Our hopes are that people who aren’t supposed to be here are deported….we hope you don’t stand in the way of the ICE and BP and US Marshall’s offices job. It’s a federal crime to obstruct a federal officers sworn duty.
Amen brother
If Trump turbocharges deportations, approximately 11 million, as some respondents seem to want, expect prices to rise dramatically. Many of these people are low wage earners in health care, construction, agriculture, meat packing plants and chicken farms. Who will do this work? How many people are admitted legally? Just over 1 million per year since 2000. What about the birth rate? The current birth rate for U.S. in 2024 is 12.009 births per 1000 people, a 0.12% decline from 2023. Babies born are not replacing the population since 2010, defined as two children per woman of child bearing age. If we don’t expand legal immigration and find a legal way to live up to the Statue of Liberty’s invitation by providing, at a minimum, green card for people currently on temporary status, Dreamers, and more, we will become a poor country indeed.
Does this apply to all those “uncles” who host 20 Indian immigrants to run their VABC or their gas stations? That program is so heavily abused in this are and many of those folks eventually take jobs in ffx county gov or places like DMV. Why you ask? Donors … (Jimenez won’t address this)
lol – no response. Folks are either totally ignorant or afraid to mention the obvious chain migration abuse by India “uncles.” Sad. We see it and thank you for mentioning it here.