Advocates gear up to help Latino immigrants – Nonprofit News

President Donald Trump’s comments during his campaign and after his election have made members of the Latino community aware that their fundamental rights and protections are at risk. Most concerning is the imminent threat of mass deportations.

Deportation affects not only illegal aliens but also millions of U.S. citizens, especially mixed-status families. For example, a Reuters article stated that “at least 5.1 million U.S. citizen children live with immigrant parents without legal status.”

As Politico’s Ali Bianco recently pointed out, this mass deportation effort, which President Trump dubbed “Operation Aurora” during his campaign, will take advantage of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a law enacted at the end of the 18th century. That is what it is. This system has only been used three times: the War of 1812, World War I, and perhaps most infamously, World War II.

During the war, this law forcibly removed approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans from their homes and held them in “concentration camps,” or de facto prisons. In 1988, Congress belatedly passed legislation providing compensation of $20,000 to Japanese American survivors estimated at $80,000.

Although it is common to talk about immigrants as if they are documented or undocumented, things are not that simple.

Thomas Kennedy, himself an immigrant from Argentina and a spokesperson for the Florida Immigration Coalition, told NPQ: ”

Adelina Nichols, a Mexican immigrant and executive director of the Georgia Latino Human Rights Alliance, agreed in a statement to NPQ: …An anti-immigrant environment is created. ”

Kennedy and Nichols are part of a larger national network of advocates organizing to protect immigrant residents.

Further immigration threats

The structure of immigration to the United States is complex. Although it is common to talk about immigrants as if they are documented or undocumented, things are not that simple.

An example of the “intermediate” category is the more than 835,000 residents who are beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The program protects some, but not all, illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children. (also popularly known as Dreamers) from the threat of deportation.

Another intermediate category includes an estimated 863,880 residents (as of March 31, 2024) who benefit from the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, which has been in place since 1990. As the Pew Research Center report explains: It offered temporary work authorization and protection from the threat of deportation to “eligible immigrants from selected countries who reside in the United States and who are considered unsafe to return to because:” war, natural disaster, or other crisis. ”

In June 2024, former President Joe Biden’s administration sought to add a third category in between by granting residency to undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens through its “Keeping Families Together” program. did. This protects mixed-status families from threats. Of deportation. However, this plan was invalidated by a federal judge in Texas. The court order, issued in November 2024, stems from a lawsuit brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and 15 other Republican-led states, with co-advisory from the right-wing group America First Legal. It was done.

The fight to protect immigrant communities is multifaceted and includes not only opposing mass deportations but also defending existing hard-won policy protections. “There were over 200 changes to immigration policy that the first Trump administration tried to implement,” Laura Vázquez, deputy director of immigration integration at UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights organization, said in an interview with NPQ. “Many of them were changes,” he recalls. These changes were blocked by the courts and could not be implemented. ”

Vázquez continued, “One of the concerns we have, however, is the Trump administration’s focus on mass deportations, which will reduce the millions of Americans currently living in mixed-status households.” “We know that this will leave unborn children vulnerable and cause great harm to people,” he added. Children of American nationality. It will also disrupt key areas of our economy to which immigrants contribute and are an important part of our workforce. ”

Trump and the Latino community

Media reports say that Latino voters are driving President Trump’s victory. The story, like immigration policy itself, is complex. Compared to 2020, there was a shift in Trump’s direction among Latino voters. Still, it is notable that even mainstream exit polls confirm at least a narrow margin of support, even if we discount alternative polls supported by groups like UnidosUS that dispute the extent of the change. A majority of Latino voters supported Harris.

Ensuring that immigrants understand their human and civil rights is an important strategy.

Vázquez also emphasized that regardless of their election choice, Latino voters have indicated by a wide margin that they do not support mass deportations. The UnidosUS survey, released last November as part of the American Voter Poll, found that among a representative sample of 3,750 Latino voters, 80 percent of respondents were permanent immigrants who had ever lived in the United States. responded that they supported the passage of a law that would give them legal status. Some Dreamers, who came to the U.S. as children, have been in the U.S. for a “very long time.”

local struggle

National elections also have local effects. Nichols said that beyond any potential federal action, Trump’s election is encouraging Republican governors to further deepen their anti-immigrant policies. “It’s an environment of increased checks and arrests for our community,” she says.

Additionally, American First Legal sent judicial threats to 249 elected officials in certain “sanctuary city” jurisdictions who are not legally cooperating with the federal government on immigration matters. This is a clear formal attack on one of the biggest obstacles facing the Trump administration. To implement mass deportations. Although sanctuary cities do not actively cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities and cannot completely thwart the actions of federal authorities, these cities often target low-risk immigrants (dangerous or fugitive). It could help immigrants who are considered non-risk avoid deportation.

community advocacy strategy

All organizations consulted for this article agree that disseminating information across the board, especially ensuring that immigrants are aware of their human and civil rights, is an important strategy. Strengthening community support networks, establishing helplines and distributing educational materials are all part of the planned overall response.

According to the Immigration Defense Project, immigration agents and enforcement agents use tactics such as impersonation investigations and pursuit of suspects to disguise themselves as police officers and enter immigrants’ homes. This tactic also includes phone calls where agents request personal information or address verification under false pretenses.

“Since 2016, we have been working with the ICE Free Zones Campaign to educate and empower the Latino community by informing them about their constitutional right to know how to protect themselves, their families, their homes, and their neighborhoods. Nichols said.

In short, it’s worth remembering that immigrant advocacy is not new and is not limited to conservative political environments. “During the Biden administration, there were deportations,” recalls Nitsa Segui, president and executive director of Latinas en Poder (Latinas in Power), a transnational feminist Latina network.

Regardless of the government, the impact of who and how they stay on families both abroad and at home needs to be addressed at the community level, Segi said.

Segi said full support for immigrant communities “needs to consider their conditions of stay and what that means for families who rely on U.S. immigrant income.”

Segui added that grassroots organizations working to advocate for migrants should focus on gender equality, as women are more vulnerable in the migration process. It will have a major impact on women’s issues. ”