Confusion mounts as immigrants react to Trump memos
PHOENIX — As supporters of stricter immigration policies cheered the sweeping set of federal immigration-enforcement guidelines issued Tuesday, panic and confusion intensified among undocumented immigrants in Arizona, with many calling the protocols an "attack" and a threat to human rights.
The enforcement procedures, outlined in a pair of Department of Homeland Security memos, implement President Trump's Jan. 25 immigration executive orders, putting most of the nation's 11 million undocumented immigrants at risk of deportation.
The memos, among other things, give local police the ability to help with immigration enforcement, call for the hiring of thousands more immigration agents and increase the number of immigrants who could be deported under "expedited removal," a process that generally denies individuals a chance to speak with an immigration judge.
Federal officials "are doing everything in their power to ensure the immigrant community is under attack — not only people who are undocumented but also people with asylum," said founder Reyna Montoya of Aliento, an organization that uses art to comfort youth affected by the immigration and detention systems.
"I think the general feeling right now is that they want to terrorize our communities," Montoya said. "People think these (guidelines) are going to make America safe again, when really it's going to push undocumented people who are victims of crimes not to report them."
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Student activist Randy Perez works with refugees and recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, known as "dreamers," at Arizona State University. He said the guidelines sparked flashbacks to the arrival of Senate Bill 1070, Arizona's controversial 2010 immigration law.
The bill requires law enforcement to determine the immigration status of someone arrested or detained if officers have reason to suspect the person entered the country illegally. The law ignited protests, boycotts and a rash of legal challenges after opponents contended it encouraged racial profiling
"What came out today is scary but, unfortunately, not surprising to anyone in Arizona," Perez said. "I don't think all of this is going to hold up in court."
Brian Garcia, a legal advocate for immigrant youth, said the "change in policy places a priority on hurting families" who "come to the U.S. to work, pursue an education and contribute to our economy."
Phoenix immigration attorney Daniel Rodriguez called the memos an "all-out attack on immigrants, legal or otherwise."
White House spokesman Sean Spicer denied the new policy is a green light for mass deportations.
"The priority that the president has laid forward (is) the people who have committed a crime or pose a threat to our public," he said.
Though federal officials also said the new guidelines will spare dreamers, immigrant-rights advocates weren't convinced.
Several pointed to the Feb. 10 arrest of Seattle "dreamer" Daniel Ramirez Medina. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents said they detained the 23-year-old because of a gang affiliation, despite lawyers repeatedly denying that claim and stressing Ramirez's clean record.
Thomas Kim, an ASU law student and DACA recipient from South Korea, said he worries giving additional power to local law-enforcement agencies will "lead to racial profiling, the separation of families and a breakdown of community trust" without "actually anything substantive in the way of public safety, which is what these memos are supposedly all about."
DACA recipient Belen Sisa agreed, saying the enforcement protocols will make the immigrant community newly distrustful of law enforcement after years of gradual inroads toward cooperation.
"In the eyes of the government, anyone who is undocumented is a criminal if our presence alone is already seen as a threat," Sisa said, calling the guidelines "xenophobic."
"This is not only a plan to mass-deport our community, but a human-rights violation not to give us the opportunity to defend ourselves in court," she said.
Migrant-rights groups began preparing immigrants for an enforcement crackdown after Trump issued his executive orders last month. Advocates said they will continue to hold informational sessions as long as they are needed.
Puente Arizona was set to begin a three-day "deportation-defense class" Tuesday evening to teach attendees about their rights when approached by immigration agents, how to prepare personal and legal documents, and "measures that can be taken right now in response to Trump's executive orders."
Aliento has scheduled March trainings, informational meetings, conference calls and retreats to inform and organize immigrants and allies.
