UNIVERSAL CITY >> Amid “panic and fear” that has gripped certain Latino immigrants across the nation, scores of Spanish-speakers converged in Universal City on Sunday for a taped town hall about the effects of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and recent enforcement actions on the Latino community.
The afternoon event, which was presented by “Noticias Telemundo” (Telemundo News) and was set to air nationwide on the network that evening, featured a panel of experts and activists who responded to a series of immigration-related questions and concerns posed by preselected audience members.
Marlene Mosqueda, whose father Manuel Mosqueda was detained during immigration raids in Los Angeles last week, said she was “very distressed” and wanted to know whether there was a chance that her father could be released on bail.
“Every person who is detained can ask to be released on bail. … Sometimes you have to appeal it to an immigration judge for a ruling in favor of bail,” immigration lawyer and panelist Alma Rosa Nieto said at the forum held at a broadcast center at the Universal Studios lot. “If a person has been previously detained, then it’s more difficult.”
Those detained by immigration officials should know that they have a right to go before a judge, that they have a right to be released on bail and should call their family immediately to tell them where they are being held and their case number so they can be found, Nieto said.
Trump has vowed to deport millions of undocumented immigrants living in the country. Less than a week after taking office, he signed an executive order that made it clear that nearly all undocumented immigrants could be prioritized for deportation and that enforcement priorities would include convicted criminals and those who had been arrested for any criminal offense.
Sunday’s town hall, which was moderated by Cuban-American journalist José Díaz-Balart, took place two days after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials announced that about 160 foreign nationals were arrested from 55 communities during a five-day targeted enforcement operation in Southern California, including in Van Nuys, San Bernardino, Downey, Santa Paula and Oxnard. As of Friday afternoon, 37 Mexican nationals who had been taken into custody during the operation had been “repatriated,” Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman with ICE, said in an email.
ICE officials have acknowledged that there was a “surge” in the number of people detained but said the vast majority were convicted felons or those with multiple misdemeanors living in the country illegally and described that type of action as routine.
On the one hand, Trump has said his deportation priorities are focused on those who present “a national security risk” or the safety of the public, said panelist Clarissa Martínez-de-Castro of National Council of La Raza. However, in reality, he has acted to “eliminate these types of priorities” and opened the door so that even those without a criminal record are at risk, she said.
When an audience member asked what rights a person has if an ICE agent knocks on their door, Nieto said every person in the country — whether here legally or not — has the constitutional right to remain silent.
While people tend to want to cooperate and give them information because they think it will help them, it’s “actually the opposite,” Nieto argued. “It will sink us.”
People should keep quiet, ask which specific agency has come to the door, and if they say they have a search warrant, ask to see it by having them put it under the door or show them through a window, she said.
If it isn’t signed by a judge, “don’t open the door,” Nieto said.
Angelica Salas of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles who was also on the panel added that the name of a person in the house should be on the search warrant before the door is opened.
Not only undocumented citizens but green card holders who may have “skeletons in the closet” may be at risk for deportation and should avoid traveling through airports, Nieto advised.
False reports of immigration checkpoints and unconfirmed operations in some cities have spread quickly on social media in recent days, helping to stoke fears in the Latino community.
Audience member Sofia Maldonado, a leader with the nonprofit Pacoima Beautiful in the northwest San Fernando Valley, said she intends to pass on tips she learned Sunday to her community.
“There is a lot of fear where I live among many couples that are living in the country illegally and have children that were born here,” she said. “They’re wondering where they are going to leave their children” if detained or deported.
Maldonado said she will now tell them to not be afraid but to put their affairs in order regarding the fate of their children, something members of the panel said could be done through a power of attorney.
“And if they need me to take care of their children, then I can help them,” she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
