For Latinos living in the Trump era, knowing your rights and having community organization backup is more necessary now than ever before. DACA applicant “Jose” started attending “know your rights” training ever since Donald Trump’s election, and last November, his schooling finally paid off.
One November morning, Jose received a call from an agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They wanted to search the apartment building Jose managed.
“He told me that he was here, [at the apartment] trying to apprehend a suspect,” Jose said. “I was like, ‘Okay, I’m on my way. I’m the property manager. I’ll be there shortly.’ And he asked me, ‘how soon because we have six agents who are ready to enter the premises?'”
Jose came rushing to the meeting place but didn’t see any officers when he arrived. He waited by the back entrance, and moments later, a few agents stepped out of unmarked vehicles. They had cars sitting in the parking lot and the street.
Immigration agents usually have an administrative warrant, but only a judge’s signature gives them legal permission to search private property. After shaking hands with the lead agent, Jose asked him for the search warrant.
“And I was just scanning for the word judge,” Jose recalls. “I was making sure that it came from a court and was actually signed by a judge.” The signature wasn’t there. “I’m sorry,” he told ICE. “In order for me to let you enter the premises, I need to see a warrant signed by a judge.”
After some arguing, the agents went back into their cars. They threatened to stay outside all day, but Jose knew help was on the way.
Before heading over to the apartments, he called the ‘Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network ICE reporting hotline’ and set off a chain reaction. Before long, three attorneys, other organizations, and community members arrived on the scene and started taking pictures.
The network’s goal is not to interfere with law enforcement, but rather to hold them accountable to do things the right way. Jose still gets rattled thinking about his encounter with immigration officials.
“Honestly, as they were walking towards me, I thought, ‘this is it,'” Jose confessed. “This is where I’m going to get picked up and then taken to a country that I really don’t know.”
Had he not taken his “know your rights” training and known about the hotline, Jose says he probably would not have confronted the ICE agents. “Knowing I had that network behind me, knowing that I had organizations here in the community that I can rely on gave me more confidence.”
Although he is undocumented, Jose has temporary permission to stay and work in the U.S. through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). He and 700,000 other immigrants who came to the U.S. as children hope DACA or the DREAM Act allows them to stay in the country.
The Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network ICE Reporting Hotline: 1-844-RAID-REP (1-844-724-3737).
This article was inspired by KUOW // He came face to face with ICE and stopped an arrest