Immigrants, legal & undocumented, ask about their rights

Latest Trump memo is “feeding the fear” of legal and undocumented immigrants

(York) — Legal and undocumented immigrants and alike are swamping the phone lines at immigration law centers following the Trump administration’s recent order to expedite the removal of illegal immigrants across the country.

Lebanon County notary public Cesar F. Liriano, who aids immigrants with citizenship documents, said, “Many of the people are afraid of what is happening right now … they feel like they may be a target.

“Even people who are legal, who have their green card, are afraid to travel out of the country.”

Along with Liriano, immigration advocates in Franklin and York counties have seen a surge in requests for information.

“There’s definitely a lot more concern in the immigrant community,” Gloria Keener, executive director of Franklin County Legal Services, said. “They are reaching out to us for help. People who are not U.S. citizens with no status are seeking our help.

“There’s more of a heightened need since the executive orders were entered. More confusion. More people want to know what their rights are.”

Keener said her office has been busier in recent weeks.

Mary Studzinski, executive director of the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center in York County, said that since the presidential election in November, the inauguration in January and the ensuing executive orders, “we are fielding a lot of  calls.”

The Trump administration said Tuesday that it had rewritten immigration enforcement policies, the Associated Press reported. Any immigrant who is in the country illegally and is charged or convicted of any offense, or even suspected of a crime, will now be an enforcement priority, according to Homeland Security Department memos signed by Secretary John Kelly.

The memos replace narrower guidance focusing on immigrants who have been convicted of serious crimes, are considered threats to national security or are recent border crossers, the AP reported.

Studzinski said that the increased focus on immigration enforcement has been “feeding the fear of those who do not have stable status.”

On Wednesday, Kelly said during a visit to Guatemala that there would not be mass deportations in the U.S.

Legal rights

Keener and Studzinski both said more people are inquiring as to what rights, if any, they have if they are not citizens.

Studzinski explained the most recent policy memo took discretion away from law enforcement. Before, an ICE agent knocking on a door at 5 a.m. would take the person he is looking for into custody. Now, if there are other people in the house, “they are scooping them up, too.”

However, while visiting Guatemala on Wednesday, Kelly said his department “will be focused precisely on those people who represent a security threat or who have committed a crime,” Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said, according to The Associated Press.

“A lot of people who are coming are in removal (deportation proceedings) and want to know their rights,” Keener said. “A few come in because of the new (presidential) action. It seems like, on the normal calls we get, everybody has another question how this will affect them.”

The York immigration center focuses most of its attention and legal resources on aiding immigrants who are in custody in York County Prison. Studzinski said PIRC’s staff of four attorneys provides legal services to up to 2,000 ICE detainees a year in York County.

She said PIRC’s mission is to provide legal representation to the  “most vulnerable,” the detainees with mental health issues, those seeking asylum and the illiterate. She said that there are easily 200 ICE detainees at York County Prison now who are seeking asylum.

But, the recent requests for information that are coming in to PIRC are about immigrants’ and aliens’ legal rights.

“They are asking, ‘What do I do if I or someone I love gets picked up?’” Studzinski said.

Questions about naturalization

Although PIRC typically does not deal with naturalization issues, the center is receiving calls from people asking how to become a citizen. Studzinski said PIRC has a list of resources concerning naturalization aid and advocates that is available to those callers, she said.

Diane Martez, director of the Chambersburg Hispanic American Center in Franklin County, said she has seen a surge of interest from immigrants about becoming American citizens.

“They are worried,” she said. “They don’t understand that (the president’s executive order) doesn’t apply to them. Everybody is kind of wary.”

People are asking about becoming U.S. citizens, getting permanent residency or work authorization, she said.

Public Opinion senior writer Jim Hook, York Daily Record issues reporter Joel Shannon and the Associated Press contributed to this story.

 

This story is part of a partnership between WITF and the York Daily Record.