Donald Trump’s claim that federal immigration officials will launch an all-out assault that will round up “millions” of immigrants and their families next week is probably not realistic, due to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s large-but-not-infinite resources, but it wasn’t meant to be completely realistic anyway.
The threats, timed with the official announcement of his 2020 reelection campaign, are bluster with another purpose, and that’s to continue terrorizing immigrants and their families as an election strategy. Trump, said immigrant rights leader Frank Sharry, is “barreling down the same path of hate and xenophobia that cost Republicans the House in the 2018 midterms.” It’s all Trump knows.
Still, with ICE acting Director Mark Morgan firmly aligned with White House aide and white supremacist Stephen Miller, that doesn’t mean the agency doesn’t have plans to conduct widespread raids that could still number into the thousands, having already conducted a number of devastating mass arrests at workplaces, such as the April 2018 Tennessee meatpacking plant raid that resulted in 100 arrests.
Raids of any magnitude are devastating, because parents could be arrested while their kids are at school, for example. Said immigrant rights leader Cristina Tzintzun, “This will result in families being separated, children being abandoned, and U.S. citizen children having to be raised in foster care systems.” Following the Tennessee raid, The New Yorker profiled a 16-year-old teen, “Juan,” who had to move away and live with his aunt after his mom was arrested.
No matter the scale of the arrests, should they happen, families must know their rights, because using this knowledge works. Advocates have pointed to the animated “We Have Rights” campaign, created by the American Civil Liberties Union and Brooklyn Defender Services, as just one example, available in a number of languages and informing viewers about what to do should they encounter ICE agents while either outside or at their homes.
In one of the videos, the narrator warns that ICE may lie and deceive in order to gain access to a home. This is a documented fact. ICE agents “may say they’re looking for a friend, relative, or roommate. But do not be fooled, and do not open the door,” the narrator says. Immigrants must ask to see an ID and a warrant, and must tell the agents to slip the items under the closed door. If the warrant is not signed by a judge, “ICE is not allowed to enter or search your home.”
The National Immigration Law Center has also created a small informational card that can be printed and kept in a wallet or purse, which contains important information on what to do should an immigrant encounter an immigration agent. “Hand this card to the officer,” it reads, “and remain silent … you are exercising your right to refuse to answer any questions until you have talked with a lawyer.” The NILC notes that “No matter who is president, everyone living in the U.S. has certain basic rights under the U.S. Constitution—everyone, including people who are undocumented.”
What Trump is threatening is a disgrace—and unpopular. Even “a Fox News poll released this week finds that, by a 2:1 margin (50-24%), Americans think Trump’s enforcement of immigration laws has ‘gone too far’ instead of ‘not far enough,’” America’s Voice noted. Trump may have actually spoiled ICE’s plan, with The New York Times reporting that senior ICE officials “were blindsided by Mr. Trump’s tweet.” Good. And families should take advantage of this heads-up about the possible raids, should they happen, to be prepared.