Almost immediately after Donald Trump took office in 2017, he directed his administration to begin rounding up and deporting immigrants living in the country without authorization. He implemented a travel ban that caused chaos at airports, leaving families, students and scholars stranded. He also attempted to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program, which shields hundreds of thousands of people brought to the country as children from deportation and imposed a “zero-tolerance” at the US-Mexico border that led to the separation of thousands of families.
Many immigration advocates fear that the next four years could be even worse.
“The stakes are so much higher,” said Cathryn Paul, public policy director at Casa, an immigrant advocacy organization with a presence across the mid-Atlantic.
Across the country, immigrant advocates, activists and legal aid groups are preparing to resist Trump’s pledge to deport millions of people living in the country without authorization – and his threat to end programs shielding tens of thousands of immigrants in the US on a lawful but temporary basis. To implement his sprawling enforcement agenda, Trump has appointed a team of immigration hardliners.
Though the incoming administration has yet to offer specifics, Trump has said he is prepared to activate the US military to assist with deportations. His “border czar”, Tom Homan, has threatened to withhold federal funds to states that refuse to cooperate, and when asked during an interview if there was a way for mass deportations not to separate families with mixed immigration statuses, he replied: “Families can be deported together.” (US citizens cannot be deported, but could choose to leave voluntarily.)
Advocates anticipate high-profile raids at work sites and in immigrant communities that the president-elect targeted on the campaign trail.
“We are trying to do everything we can to provide people with the facts, to provide people with the greatest level of information that we have and allow them to decide for themselves what they need to do for their safety and the safety of their family,” Paul said.
Casa has been holding “know your rights” workshops to prepare people for Trump’s return to power. The presentations are not new, but Paul said attendance had risen since the November election. In recent weeks, schools and city councils have also reached out to Casa seeking guidance on how to protect students and residents who could be at risk of deportation.
The workshops include role-playing, with step-by-step instructions for how to respond if, for example, “Ice knocks on your door,” Paul said, referring to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The trainings run through what information to share – and not to share – and how to access legal representation.
“We actually go through what exactly is needed to make sure that your family is prepared in the event you get picked up or an Ice raid happens at work and you get separated from your kids,” she added.
Trainings are tailored to the specific political and legal climate of a certain location. Some states, such as California and Illinois, have already vowed to shield people from potential Trump administration immigration policies, while other places like Texas and Missouri are pushing legislation that would help Trump carry out his mass deportation pledge.
The training also seeks to address the widespread fear that attending a doctor’s appointment, a school meeting or a church service could lead to their arrest. In his first term, Trump attempted to impose what amounted to a wealth test for immigrants seeking permanent residency in the US by expanding the range of safety-net programs that would render an applicant ineligible.
Estimates and anecdotal evidence suggest that the threat alone led many immigrant families, including US-citizen children, not to seek healthcare and other assistance for which they were eligible.
Foday Turay, an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia who fled Sierra Leone as a child and is shielded from deportation by the Daca program, told a Senate panel in December that fear can lead to a decline in reports of crime, especially domestic violence and sexual assault.
“As a prosecutor, I know how delicate the ties between law enforcement and immigrants can be if immigrants are afraid to cooperate with the police or prosecutors like myself because they’re afraid of deportation,” he said.
Additionally, advocacy and legal aid groups are urging immigrant families to put together plans in the event a loved one is detained or deported. The Chicago-based National Immigrant Justice Center has published a resource guide with actions families can take now to be prepared.
They suggest creating a safety plan that includes designating an emergency contact who can pick up a child from school and make medical and legal decisions for the child in the event a parent is detained. They also advise collecting all documents including immigration and financial information in a safe place that other families or an emergency contact can access.
They also warn people to be aware of immigration fraud and digital scams.
“Immigrants may be targeted by people wanting to exploit their situation to make money in order to avoid immigration fraud,” Elizabeth Gonzalez, a paralegal with the group says in a video. “Only seek legal advice from people who are authorized to give it.”
A Phoenix-based group that advocates for undocumented young people and families with mixed-immigration status has prepared a “defense and preparation” checklist. The packet includes several forms to appoint a legal guardian and to authorize a designated contact to pick up paychecks for the person in deportation proceedings.
Some of the efforts build on lessons learned during the first Trump administration. Workplace raids in Tennessee and Mississippi led organizers to create an emergency response tool kit for affected communities. The guide outlines five actions to take in the moments following a worksite raid, including designating a single place such as a community center or church for families and responders to gather.
But advocates and activists say community organizers can only do so much. Resisting the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown will require a broad coalition of immigrant rights groups, school administrators and local governments to be effective.
Advocates are pushing their local and state governments to take actions now that could slow the federal government’s ability to carry out deportations on mass scale. This includes a push for so-called “sanctuary city” policies that prevent local and state law enforcement from aiding federal immigration officials as they seek to detain and deport immigrants.
“Trump is promising massive deportations on day one, and we’re preparing to defend our communities on day one,” Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, an alderman on Chicago’s city council, told the Guardian in November.
Advocates are also urging state and local governments to restrict immigration officials from carrying out arrests in sensitive locations like schools, hospitals and churches; to cancel contracts that allow Ice to use local jails and facilities to detain immigrants; and to take steps to better protect the data they collect on undocumented residents. Some places have established legal defense funds for immigrants facing deportation.
Meanwhile, organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are studying various proposed changes to immigration and asylum law in preparation for potential legal challenges. Earlier this year, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Ice, seeking more information about how the agency might carry out Trump’s proposed mass deportation campaign.
“There are a lot of things that we can do – that we are doing – to engage our immigrant families and the broader community as a whole,” Paul said.
