This Week in Immigration Reform — Week Ending February 17

on in Immigration Reform Updates

Week Ending February 17

This week in immigration: NCLR responds to immigration enforcement actions; shares information on Telemundo town hall on immigration; and responds to A Day Without Immigrants.

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NCLR responds to enforcement actions: This week we continued to see chaos that erupted as a direct consequence of President Trump’s Executive Orders and his full-speed ahead order to immigration agents to arrest and detain any and all undocumented immigrants they encounter.

Millions of American families are feeling anxious as a result of the scorched-earth approach this administration is pursuing. This follows the deportation of Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, a long-time Arizona resident and mother of two U.S. citizens when she went for a check in with the local immigration office. Earlier this week, another mother of U.S. citizens with strong ties to her community took sanctuary in a church in Colorado.  NCLR President and CEO, Janet Murguia took to twitter to state that deporting hard-working moms who pose no threat does not make anyone safer but does destroy families.

In Seattle this week, Daniel Ramirez Medina, a DACA recipient, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Daniel’s lawyers have filed a request to the court to have him released and there was a groundswell of support in Seattle and across the country to push for his immediate release. NCLR joined over 400 organizations in calling for Daniel’s release. NCLR’s board member, Lorena Gonzalez, a Seattle city council member, along with the mayor and other council members are pushing for Daniel’s release and to get more information from the local ICE office. NCLR has been sharing a petition on social media and using Twitter and Facebook to show support.  

Meanwhile, this week there are reports of ICE raids taking place in Northern Virginia near a church and of Customs and Border Patrol Agents following a transgender woman and arresting her in a courthouse. The Trump administration is unleashing a deportation force intended to frighten immigrants and their U.S. citizen families.

A number of Senate Democrats, led by Nevada’s new Senator, Catherine Cortez Masto, introduced legislation this week to rescind President Trump’s Executive Order on Interior Enforcement that directs the Department of Homeland Security to prioritize the deportation of a vast majority of undocumented immigrants living and contributing to our communities. Joining the senators in support of the legislation, Clarissa Martinez de Castro, Deputy Vice President at NCLR stated, “The Trump administration is trying to unleash an immigration force intended to intimidate immigrants and create a ‘show me your papers’ environment.”

NCLR participates in Telemundo immigration townhall: On Sunday, February 12, Clarissa Martinez De Castro participated in a televised town hall on Telemundo featuring an immigration lawyer, political analyst Ana Navarro, and the Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles, Angelica Salas. During the town hall, participants answered viewers’ questions about the impact of President Trump’s immigration policies on the Latino community. You can watch the town hall here or the rebroadcast on Sunday, February 19th at noon Eastern on Telemundo.  Telemundo also conducts a facebook live question and answer session with an immigration lawyer every Thursday #juevesdeinmigracion and the Hispanic Communications Network broadcasts on radio stations across the country a weekly call-in show with an immigration lawyer. 

NCLR responds to a “Day Without Immigrants”: This Thursday, a number of cities across the country felt the impact of a day without immigrants.

National and local coverage from USA Today, the Associated Press, Washington Post included NCLR’s take on the day. “In a time when the administration doesn’t seem to see anything positive about the immigrant community,” Martinez said, “having small-business owners, chefs and their workers challenge that notion and give voice to the very real ways immigrants contribute to society is very significant.” Restaurants large and small stood in solidarity with immigrants and decided to close or limit their service on Thursday.

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