|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Amid uncertainty under the new administration, recent reported sightings of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in largely Latino and immigrant communities like East Palo Alto have put many residents on edge.
While these reports, mainly made on social media, are an effort to help out neighbors who fear deportation, they are often unconfirmed and can do more harm than good, experts say.
East Palo Alto Police Chief Jeff Liu said there have been no confirmed ICE sightings in the city and called such rumors irresponsible, as they stoke a “state of panic and fear.”
Local immigration experts and law enforcement, including Liu, are urging residents to educate themselves on safeguards and the proper ways to report sightings of ICE, or federal immigration officers, when spotted in their own communities.
The city of East Palo Alto prohibits local police from working with ICE, and Santa Clara County confirmed in a press release that it remains committed to protecting “all residents, regardless of immigration status,” but residents should be cautious not to spread misinformation about ICE.
Immigration law experts advise people not to post on social media unless they can properly verify their sighting, and the best way to verify is to contact a rapid response network, said Alison Kamhi, legal program director of the Immigrant Resource Center.
A rapid response network or hotline is typically composed of a group of local volunteers, legal professionals and community leaders, who quickly work to verify information like an ICE sighting.
If these experts confirm a sighting, they will make a community announcement and quickly mobilize to speak to local residents.
Some local resources include:
- San Mateo County rapid response hotline: (203) 666-4472
- Santa Clara County rapid response hotline: (408) 290-1144
- San Francisco rapid response hotline: (415) 200-1548
While some other counties, like Alameda County, do not currently have a rapid response hotline, local organizations like Centro Legal De La Raza offer telephone assistance at (510) 437-1554.
People and organizations can also attend training on how to properly identify ICE, Kamhi said, through programs like Migra Watch, which is a part of the nonprofit Immigrant Liberation Movement, which was created by the California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance, East Bay Immigrant Youth Coalition, Faith in Action Bay Area/PICO California and Pangea Legal Services in 2016.
People or groups can sign up or schedule a session on Migra Watch’s Google Form.
Residents who are fearful of deportation or are interested in protections against the federal government can learn more about immigration rights through local trainings, like East Palo Alto’s ongoing “Know Your Rights” event. At the training, people can learn from local lawyers like Kamhi about how to safely interact with ICE.
One of the most important steps a person can take is obtaining a “red card,” which lists the rights of any person to not speak to federal officials or sign any documents under their 5th Amendment rights, as well as their right to deny agents entrance to their homes without a warrant signed by a judge. People can flash a red card to ICE to signal they will not further interact.
Local organizations and schools will often carry red cards, but anyone can order or print one from the internet, Kamhi said, like from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center’s website.
The “Know Your Rights,” training will further detail red card use on Feb. 11 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at East Palo Alto’s Municipal Center at 2415 University Ave.
Local organizations in East Palo Alto will continue to host immigration-related events on the second Tuesday of each month, regarding various topics like labor rights, law enforcement agencies, health and social services and more, according to city council member Ruben Abrica.
