CASA Shows Undocumented Immigrants What To Do If ICE Comes Knocking Amid Raid Threats In Baltimore
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Undocumented immigrants learned Monday night what do to just in case ICE agents show up at their door.
An advocacy group rapidly organized a community meeting, after President Trump announced mass deportations will happen in two weeks.
"People are scared, people are anxious, people are like 'What do we do now?'" said Jesus Perez, a DACA recipient.
Jesus Perez came to the U.S. from Mexico as a child, and his DACA status could shield him from deportation.
But after President Trump announced immigration agents will detain then deport undocumented immigrants from 10 cities including Baltimore, Perez said panic has set in.
"My family, my extended family and then my community here in Baltimore. Any of them could get roundup, so like, I said it's scary and it's a fear that we don't want," Perez said.
CASA, an immigrant advocacy group organized an emergency meeting to teach undocumented immigrants what to do if an ICE agent knocks at their door-- and that includes not speaking or signing any documents without a lawyer.
"We know that our best line of defense is knowing our rights. I think that the President's strategy is to try to cripple our community by putting so much fear into our members that they panic," said CASA's Lydia Walther-Rodriguez.
After criticism from Democrats, President Trump tweeted that the raids won't happen for another "two weeks", but after that, "big deportation begins!"
About 2,000 people could be targeted in this deportation operation. Vice President Mike Pence is defending the administration.
"The vast majority never show up for their hearing a year 18 months down the road so the president is doing his job," said VP Mike Pence.
On top of teaching undocumented immigrants how to react if immigration agents come knocking, CASA also wants to teach other members of the community how to help.
They have a meeting in their East Baltimore office on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
