President-elect Donald Trump has promised mass deportations when he takes office in January. It’s still not clear just how much of this his administration will be able to do. But today, USC legal experts made clear to immigrant students that they and their families have rights – regardless of their immigration status.
“What we’re talking about us know your rights, prepare for the worst, because if something does happen, happens to you or to your sister or to your father, there are rights,” said Niels Frenzen, law professor and director of USC’s immigration clinic. “There are things that can be done to protect someone if they’re arrested by immigration officers. Educate yourself now so that you know what you can do if that horrible thing happens.”
Frenzen and other experts mentioned a few examples: For one, if questioned by an immigration officer, that it’s okay to refuse to speak with them or answer questions; that it’s okay to insist on speaking with a lawyer; and if immigration officers come to your door, you don’t need to open it – ask to see a warrant signed by a judge.
The USC legal experts also noted that a federal document known as a “Warrant for Arrest of Alien” is not a judicial warrant. They also advised that immigrants who are vulnerable to deportation carry a know-your-rights card with them, and that they make emergency plans with their family in case they’re arrested.
Frenzen added that people who are undocumented should speak to an attorney to see what options they have for legalizing their immigration status.
“Educate yourself about whether or not you have any way of legalizing your status. Most undocumented people do not, but some do, and unless you speak with an immigration lawyer, you don’t know that,” Frenzen said. “So explore whether or not you have ways of legalizing your status.”
Among the students there was Consuelo Vidal-Perez, a senior majoring in law, history and culture. She’s from the northern California farming community of Watsonville, where more than a third of the population was born outside of the United States. Vidal-Perez said it’s important to learn about these rights even if one is not directly affected, noting that a lot of people have families of mixed immigration status.
“Having like, informational meetings like this definitely helps ease a lot of our students and a lot of like our community members,” said Vidal-Perez. “I also think that even if you’re not directly affected by these things, it’s important to attend them so that you can give this information to those that you know are going to be affected.”
USC immigration clinic co-director Jean Reisz said it’s critical for immigrant communities to be well-informed and know their rights, ahead of any future immigration crackdowns.
“I think one of the biggest challenges to being able to do the mass deportations is people who are going to assert and fight and make it harder to do, and that will slow, slow the process down,” Reisz said.
And that the time to learn those rights is now, the experts said.
The incoming Trump administration has been staffing up for increased immigration enforcement, including with the naming of former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acting director Tom Homan as “border czar.” Homan has said he plans to carry out Trump’s hoped-for mass deportation plans.