What's at stake:
Immigrant rights groups hosted a news conference in downtown Fresno Wednesday morning, sounding the alarm on how immigrants are being arrested outside courtrooms in both Fresno and Madera. They reminded the public of available resources and called on community members to get involved and volunteer with the Valley Watch Network run by Faith in the Valley.
Local immigrant rights advocates are sounding the alarm on immigration authorities arresting undocumented people outside courtrooms in Fresno and Madera.
Just last week, an undocumented person was arrested by immigration authorities after reporting to a court hearing in Fresno, said Sarait Martinez, the executive director of Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oxaqueño.
The same happened last week outside a courtroom in Madera, Martinez added.
“At this point, we’re dealing with a government that is not following the law,” Martinez said during a Wednesday news conference in downtown Fresno. “We want people to know what to do in case they encounter ICE, and how do they prepare their families in case they don’t come back.”
A coalition of immigrant rights groups called a news conference Wednesday morning in front of the Robert E. Coyle federal courthouse in downtown Fresno to explain to the public the crisis facing immigrants today. They also gathered to remind the community of resources available for immigrants and called on local community members to support the work of immigrant rights groups.
Lourdes Medina, an organizer with Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN), emphasized that any member of the community can contact the volunteer-run Valley Watch Network to report the presence of immigration authorities.
The Valley Watch Network hotline can be contacted at (559) 206 – 0151.
“Our human rights, our constitutional rights and our community rights are being violated by anti-immigrant sentiments, fear-mongering and abuse of power at the hands of the federal government through the Department of Homeland Security and ICE,” Medina said at the Wednesday news conference.
An ICE spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
Back in July, a federal judge found that the Department of Homeland Security violated the constitutional rights of the people arrested in Southern California. One big issue was that federal immigration authorities were illegally racially profiling the people they arrested.
However, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that decision in early September, temporarily allowing immigration authorities to resume their methods of identifying immigrants for deportation. Legal experts have warned that the Supreme Court ruling “effectively legalized racial profiling and by extension racial discrimination.”
President Donald Trump ran on a campaign promise to go after “the worst of the worst” — referencing “dangerous criminals” who illegally snuck into the country. However, government data shows immigration authorities have mostly apprehended undocumented immigrants who haven’t committed any crimes. Being in the U.S. illegally is a civil offense, not a criminal one.
Additionally, just this week, the same Customs and Border Protection force that created chaos for immigrants in California went up to Chicago to continue Trump’s deportation campaign. U.S. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino told Chicago media that the arrests of immigrants are partly based on how they look compared to white people.
In June, Fresnoland published firsthand video of masked immigration authorities in plainclothes arresting two men outside a mandated ICE check-in appointment in downtown Fresno. Additionally, a restaurant manager who works at Pismo’s Coastal Grill in Fresno was arrested by immigration authorities this summer, and is currently stuck in a Bakersfield detention facility.
How community members can support immigrant rights groups
Community members in Fresno and Madera can contact the Valley Watch Network to support immigrants and get involved with immigrant rights groups. There are at least three ways volunteers can help:
- Legal Observer: Provide firsthand verification of reported ICE activity in the community
- Accompaniment: Support undocumented people who need to report to an ICE check-in or court appearance by accompanying them to their appointment
- Mutual Aid: Assist in connecting families and people facing deportation to different resources
Brenda Ordaz Garcia, the community education and outreach coordinator at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), said at the news conference that it’s vital for families to create an emergency plan in the event they encounter immigration authorities.
That includes gathering passports, IDs, birth certificates, social security cards, immigration documents, marriage certificates, school documents, medication lists and doctors’ information, Garcia said. It’s also important to memorize emergency contacts, she added.
She also reminded community members to contact the Valley Watch Network’s hotline if they have any questions or need any help.
Garcia emphasized that anyone detained, including undocumented people, have rights under the U.S. Constitution. Everyone has the right to remain silent, speak to an attorney and refuse unlawful, unwarranted search and seizure by immigration authorities.
“Make sure that you uphold these rights,” Garcia said at the news conference. “Vocalize these rights to ICE agents and let them know that you are exercising your right to remain silent.”
Comments are closed.