Here’s How Local Advocates and Immigrant Advocates Are Preparing for Trump’s Mass Deportation Plans

Local news

“We anticipate that immigration enforcement efforts may be focused on states or communities perceived to be immigrant-friendly, making Massachusetts a likely target.”

Weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, immigrant advocates and lawyers in Massachusetts are preparing to deal with the challenges that lie ahead.

On his first day in office, Trump promised to launch “the largest deportation program in American history.”

“I will save every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in prison, and then get them the hell out of our country as quickly as possible,” the former president said in his Madison Square. A garden rally in New York last month.

Sarah Sherman-Stokes, associate director of Boston University’s Immigrant Rights and Human Trafficking Clinic, predicts that to achieve its goals, the Trump administration will invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which was largely used during the war to give the military the ability to carry out executions. . massive deportation efforts.

If the law passes, immigration lawyers say they expect Trump’s policies to be felt across the country – with some thinking Massachusetts will be on the front lines.

Massachusetts has long been at the center of a migrant crisis, with its shelter system overwhelmed and migrants being trafficked into the state. It is also home to several sanctuary cities, including Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Springfield, Holyoke and Amherst.

“We expect that immigration enforcement efforts may focus on states or communities that are perceived as immigrant-friendly, making Massachusetts a likely target,” Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights, recently told Boston.com .

“Great Fear on Earth”

Espinoza-Madrigal says there is already “tremendous fear” in the immigrant community just weeks after the election.

“Part of what they are doing is actually trying to create a sense of terror in these communities to drive people further underground,” Sarang Sekhawat, chief of staff for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Coalition, told Boston.com.

Much of the fear stems from Trump’s rhetoric toward immigrants, said Rachel Benedict, an attorney with the Ryan Immigration Center.

“The very words that Trump uses have a real effect and a real impact on the people of Massachusetts,” she told Boston.com. “His words matter.”

Sekhawat said he foresees employers will lose employees and some children may be left without parents.

“How can you focus on studying and building a life here if you don’t know what will happen to your parents?” – said Benedict.

Without a clear plan from the Trump administration, Sekhawat said, there is a lot of “uncertainty” among both those serving the immigrant community and immigrants themselves.

“Everyone is just very worried right now,” he said. “People don’t know what their life will be like.”

Drugs

As Inauguration Day approaches, immigration legal service providers in Massachusetts are working around the clock to resolve client concerns and working with local policymakers to strengthen protections for immigrants in the state.

Espinoza-Madrigal said his organization is in the process of evaluating how local and state policies can be “sharpened” to make it more difficult to mobilize resources for immigration enforcement.

To achieve that goal, Espinoza-Madrigal said he is working with policymakers to “strengthen sanctuary policies and close loopholes.”

“Federal immigration enforcement is not the responsibility of local and state officials,” he said. “We need Boston and other cities to make a strong commitment to supporting migrants.”

That support from local governments, Espinoza-Madrigal said, can be tangibly felt through monitoring and training law enforcement officials and school districts to ensure “our communities remain immigrant-friendly.”

“Civil rights lawyers urge state and local governments to provide regular training and oversight of law enforcement and school officials to prevent collusion or obfuscation in immigration enforcement,” he said.

Sekhawat said he is helping parents create plans for their children’s care in case they are picked up by ICE.

“We’re trying to get stuff like this out into the community so these families can have a legal infrastructure in case the worst happens to them,” he said.

Sekhawat said he also aims to educate “as many people as possible” about their rights.

“We don’t want people to be afraid of simple things like taking their kids to school or going grocery shopping,” he said. “But at the same time, we need to make sure they are aware of both what the policy could potentially mean for them and how to protect themselves.”

Attorney and co-founder of the Mabel Immigration Justice Center Daniel Santiago said he has received many calls from people expressing concerns about their immigration cases and fears of deportation.

Both Santiago and Benedict said they filed as many cases as possible in the days before Trump took office.

“There is a lot of preparatory work ahead of the inauguration,” Santiago told Boston.com. “But we also expect there will be a lot of work after that.”

Grassroots politicians resist, but advocates want more

States can resist cooperation with the federal government by refusing to detain immigrants in their communities and by not allowing local police to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, Sherman-Stokes told Boston.com.

“We would like to see our law enforcement agencies focus on their priorities, on their mission, which is criminal enforcement, rather than interfering with civil immigration enforcement,” Sekhawat said.

In many cases in Boston, existing law prevents local police from cooperating with ICE enforcement.

“The idea that certain local law enforcement agencies would be required to or would engage in mass deportations of residents who have not engaged in serious criminal activity just to fulfill this campaign promise is not something that is possible under the law.” in Boston,” Wu said on Boston Public Radio’s GBH last week.

Tom Homan, Trump’s designated “border czar,” responded to Wu’s comments on Newsmax on Monday, saying, “Either she helps us or she gets out of the way because we’re going to do it.”

“Democrats’ preference for pandering to their fringe partisans is putting residents at risk,” MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale said in a statement about Wu’s recent comments. “This policy is out of control and completely meaningless.”

However, Gov. Maura Healey echoed Wu’s plans in a recent MSNBC interview, saying she would make sure Massachusetts State Police also do not cooperate with Trump’s deportation plans, as Boston.com previously reported. Healey said she supports the use of resistance through state regulators, her executive powers and state legislation.

However, Sherman-Stokes says Healy’s stated opposition is not enough. The state’s last remaining ICE contract to hold migrants at the Plymouth County Detention Facility accused of “inhumane conditions” has not yet been terminated.

“Advocates have repeatedly asked the state to terminate this contract, but it sits like a loaded weapon that can be expanded once Trump takes office,” she said.

Sherman-Stokes said she wants the state to provide more protections for noncitizens to counter the potential impact on Massachusetts’ immigrant population.

“I would like to see the state of Massachusetts and elected officials in Massachusetts ensure that we house all non-citizens so that they are safe and not left on the streets as sitting ducks for ICE arrests and enforcement,” she said.

Espinoza-Madrigal said he wants to see more action behind politicians’ words.

“The public statements we’ve seen are helpful, but we need a lot more,” he said. “Monitoring and education are critical, and we don’t see enough of that at the local or state level.”