While the eyes of the Latino community in North Carolina are on the approval of anti-immigrant legislation, HB 370, President Donald Trump announced a mega raid across the country.
The federal administration announced that the goal of the mega raid is to arrest nearly one million immigrants with “deportation orders and who are still in the country.” The truth is that no undocumented immigrant is safe.
For this reason, groups that work with immigrant families agree that, given the warning of a mega raid, it is necessary to have a family plan; know and exercise your rights and organize.
“People need to know their rights and make sure they can be supported by the documents they need.” It was what he indicated to Enlace Latino NC Stefanía Arteaga, community organizer at Comunidad Colectiva de Charlotte. “You have to create an emergency plan and take precautionary measures,” she said.
Measures such as not giving information to immigration agents, not opening the door of your house or car, unless the immigration agents have an order signed by a judge on your behalf.
“They have the right to remain silent. Not to open the doors of their homes or places of employment; and if you are arrested, do not sign anything and immediately ask for a lawyer.” This is what Eliazar Posada, Community Liaison and Advocacy Manager of the Durham Hispanic Center, indicated.
The most common mistakes
In February, 300 immigrants They were arrested in a large state operation and three weeks ago, 28 more They were arrested in similar immigration operations. According to the community advocacy group Siembra NC, most of these arrests were possible because the immigrants opened their car doors.
“You have the same rights as when you are at home.” This is what he explained to Enlace Latino NC Andrew Garcés, community organizer for Siembra NC.
“If they don't have a court order signed by a judge, you don't have to open.”
A video shared by the community group indicates the following recommendations in case ICE detains you when they are inside your car:
- Lock the door as the officers try to open it.
- Start recording video and if you can live stream it and share it on social media.
- If they show you an order or document, you must make sure that it is an order signed by a judge; to do this, lower the window slightly. When they hand you the document, take a photo of it and send it to someone you trust.
- If it is a judicial order it will say “State Court” or “District Court” in the header or top, while if it is an administrative order it will say “Department of Homeland Security”.
- Check that the order is in your name.
- If it is a court order, the officers do have the right to enter your vehicle, otherwise they do not.
- Previously have the contact of a community organization or a trusted lawyer to whom you can inform about what is happening.
Who to call?
As soon as you see ICE presence in your community or neighborhood or if they intercept you, the ideal is to call your family and a lawyer. You can also contact community surveillance organizations or networks, which are trained to send people to help you and to verify if it is a real fact.
Likewise, some of these groups are prepared to guide families when an arrest occurs with information about legal assistance and in some cases, about available financial resources, such is the case of Siembre NC and the Centro Hispano.
Another community defense tool is the documentation of the facts. “The laws protect everyone regardless of whether you are documented or not,” said Garcés; who recalled that many ICE agents leave after seeing them being recorded; It also serves as evidence before a judge in case they break their rules or laws. “Many times these videos can be used by lawyers to get them released for a false arrest.”
Why have a plan before the mega raid notice
Garcés mentioned that after detentions occur, immigrants recognize the importance of preparing and having a family plan. “If we are not, we are more likely to do what we should not. The community that has experienced it has told us that they knew about the importance of having a family plan, but that they thought it would not happen to them.”
Garcés indicated that there are situations that would be better resolved if it is defined in advance if there is a copy of the car key to pick it up in case it is left on the road, access to bank accounts, picking up the children, among other details.
Since the Trump Administration took office, North Carolina has seen a 460% increase in ICE arrests, a coalition of state and local organizations reported in a statement.
Community surveillance networks
-RadarSafe in Raleigh:
Call 1800-5598714 to report an ICE stop or activity.
-The Hispanic Center in Durham and Orange: Call 919-945-0132 or send a private message on Facebook
-NC Planting in Burlington, Randolph, Winston Salem and Greensboro: Call 336-543-0353 or send a private message on Facebook.
-Community Collective in Charlotte: send a Facebook message
-Comrades Mountain Immigrants in Action (CIMA) in and around Asheville: Call 1888-839-2839 or send a Facebook message
-Henderson Resist in Henderson via Facebook message
PODCAST
After the storm
A year ago, Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina. The Latino community responded with something stronger than the storm: solidarity.
🎧 In this episode, learn how Latino organizations transformed crisis into resilience.
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