Laura Barron-Lopez:
So, a longtime immigration lawyer that I spoke to said that they believe that the end goal here is to essentially scare enough legal immigrants to self-deport, to drive up those deportation numbers that the president wants.
Now, in cases like Ozturk, the Tufts student who was arrested in the street, some immigration lawyers say — that Shrai Popat and I talked to, said that federal agents have to produce a warrant when they’re attempting to arrest you, that the person being arrested doesn’t necessarily have to answer any questions, but their advised not to resist arrest.
Now, earlier, I also spoke to Jennifer Babaie. She is the legal services director with Las Americas. And she — I began by asking her what she’s been hearing from families, especially parents that are fearful that they could be detained and separated from their children.
Jennifer Babaie, Director of Advocacy and Legal Services, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center: What we’re advising these individuals is to prepare legal documents so that there is a legal custodian who can come in and take care of their children in the short term should they be detained.
That’s rightfully one of the scariest scenarios to think about and it’s our job to get folks sort of ready to contemplate what will happen if that occurs. The questions I also get are, is it safe for us to come to your office? Is it safe for me to report a crime to the police? Is it safe for my children to go to school? Can I still go to church? If I go to church and I don’t have my I.D. on me, can I be arrested?
The community is afraid and also at the same time trying to understand how to be law-abiding.
