For weeks, the Trump Administration has been threatening to deport “millions” of illegal immigrants. The on-again, off-again plan seems to be on again (sort of), and so let’s discuss who might be targeted, and what to do if ICE comes calling.
Before we get to that, I think it is important to understand something about the rhetoric of President Trump and his aids: Through their words and their actions, they are trying to terrorize non-citizens. Unfortunately, they are largely succeeding, and many people throughout the U.S. are living in a state of dread. Perhaps the President and his supporters can argue that this is about enforcing the law, and about deterring foreigners from coming here. But it seems to me that the law can be enforced without the cruel words and rhetorical games, such as Mr. Trump’s gleeful tweet that unless Congress can work out a solution to the “Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border… Deportations start!” From where I sit, this is pure cruelty, and the harm to regular people–non-citizens and their citizen family members–and to our nation is very real.
In a case of giving advice that I would have a hard time accepting myself, I think it is important to ignore the Administration’s words as much as possible. By this, I don’t mean that non-citizens should tune out, since it is important to know what’s happening in order to protect yourself. But dwelling on the Administration’s threats and bluster is mentally exhausting, and it serves no purpose (other than perhaps to further the President’s goal of terrorizing you). Despite it all, so far, Mr. Trump’s bark has proved far worse than his bite (in terms of deportations, the opposite might be said of President Obama).
And so while the rhetoric is bad, and bad things are happening, they are not happening on the scale that the President likes to claim. The “millions” of deportations is now down to two thousand, and even that may be difficult to accomplish given the government’s limited resources and the advance notice provided by the Commander-in-Chief. In short, the situation is not as bad as it may appear, and it is important to not let the stress and fear become overwhelming.
Turning to the raids themselves, who is a target? We don’t precisely know, since ICE keeps its cards close to the vest, but the New York Times reports that ICE will target individuals and families with final orders of deportation, particularly those who entered the country recently. Also, according to RAICES, an immigration non-profit, raids will occur in 10 different cities.
If you have legal status in the United States, or if you have a pending application in Immigration Court or at the Asylum Office, the raids should not directly affect you. Indeed, from what we know so far, unless you actually have been ordered deported by an Immigration Judge and that order is final (meaning, you did not appeal or your appeal was denied), you are not a target of the raids.
On the other hand, if you do have a final order of removal, you could be a target. It likely does not matter how long you have been in the U.S., whether you have family here, or whether you are otherwise law-abiding. If you live in one of the targeted cities, the risk is probably greater than if you live elsewhere, but we cannot be sure about that–raids could occur anywhere.
Also, ICE officers are perfectly happy to arrest any “illegal” who they encounter, even if that person is not the target of a raid. So if you live with a person who is a target, or you spend time with such a person, or if you just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, you could find yourself affected by a raid. For this reason, it is good for all non-citizens to be prepared.
So how do you prepare? The ACLU has a helpful webpage in many different languages. Also, the National Immigration Law Center recommends the following for people without status (I have slightly edited this list):
- If you encounter ICE agents, remain silent, or tell the ICE agent that you want to remain silent.
- Ask to speak with a lawyer.
- Do not carry false documents.
- Carry a “know your rights” card (PDF)
- Find out the name and phone number of a reliable immigration attorney and keep this information with you at all times.
- Know your “alien registration number” (“A” number) if you have one, and write it down someplace at home where your family members can find it.
- Prepare a form or document that authorizes another adult to care for any minor children.
- Advise family members who do not want to be questioned by ICE to stay away from any place where a raid occurred or where a detained person is being held.
- Do not sign any U.S. government documents without first speaking with a lawyer.
More generally, have a plan. Make sure a trusted family member or friend has access to your immigration information and documents. Maybe scan or photograph your documents and save them online. Make a plan with your immediate family about what to do in the event of a raid – who to call, where to go.
If you have a deportation order, realize that you are a target for ICE. If ICE or any part of the U.S. government has your home, work or school address, they could come there to arrest you. If you are in an area where raids are likely to occur, you also face risk, as ICE can detain anyone without status, even if that person was not the specific target of the raid. One thing you can do affirmatively is to talk to a lawyer–if there is a basis to re-open your case, you are probably better off getting started now rather than waiting until you are detained.
Non-citizens who are in-status also need to be careful and should be aware of their rights. Carry your Green Card, EAD or other documents with you (in some cases a non-citizen is required to carry such documents), or at least carry a copy of them. And keep a copy at your house, online, or with a trusted friend, in case you lose the original.
If you do not have status but have a pending case, carry copies of your receipts or Immigration Court scheduling order, and–if you have it–a photo ID. Such documents should provide protection against arrest.
If you are arrested, there are actions that you (or more likely, your lawyer) can take: File a motion to reopen a closed case, request a stay of removal, file a motion for bond. So even an arrest may not be the end of the story, if you are prepared to take action.
Finally, try to keep things in perspective. In 2016, there were over 950,000 people in the U.S. with removal orders. This is the most recent data I could find, and I suspect that the numbers are even higher today. If ICE hopes to arrest 2,000 people in these raids, that accounts for only about 1 person in 500 of those in the U.S. with a deportation order. And even if they arrest more than that, the likelihood of any one individual being targeted is quite low. These raids are more about frightening people than about effective immigration enforcement. Keep that in mind and make sure you are prepared. These are the best ways to get through this difficult time.
All I know is that they didn’t care if I had a judge hearing scheduled. They imposed an ankle monitor and mandatory visits, although I had been residing at the same address, had 0 convictions, had a valid EAD and everything was being done legally with a lawyer.
Unfathomable illegalities and human right violation, since they don’t follow the legal path and govern by “one size fits all” method. So it doesn’t matter if you were referred to the judge by the officer, crossed the border illegally, overstayed visa etc. You might be put in a cage.
Thank God or luck the judge was a reasonable man, and my Green Card finally got approved based on judge’s decision. Good luck everyone, and stay strong!
Hi Jason,
Hope you are well! I have been waiting for decision for almost 10 months and it has been 5 year since I applied for asylum. The wait is killing me. I have contacted asylum office several time and get the same response “under a routine review” this time I contacted congressman and again got similar response “pending final decision”. Is it ok if I contact ombudsman? Do you it would hurt the decision by any means?
I’ve waiting for almost 16 months! got the same response. Asked in person, said “pending further review”, asked congressmen office to ask, said “pending final decision”. so tired. looks like many officers were sent to southern border so there is still infinite wait at the asylum office.
I do not see any harm in contacting the Ombudsman – one of their jobs is to assist with delayed cases. However, I doubt they will be very helpful. Anyway, you can try. If that fails, you might consider a mandamus lawsuit – we wrote about that on October 2, 2018. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I applied for an asylum-based greencard in March this year.Do you know how long it takes to process a green card for an asylee or there is also a greencard backlog like the asylum one!!
Thanks!
Hi- you can check processing times for almost any application submitted to USCIS at https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/
Thank you!
It varies – you can check the processing times at http://www.uscis.gov, but we see such cases usually taking 6 months to over a year. It is not very predictable. Take care, Jason
Hi how are you doing?
i have two questions, 1. what poro bono means?
2. I got my master hearing on September 9th so when i should prepare with my attorney my case and my attorney has to give the Judge on the hearing date all documents about my case or no?
the things is always i have to call my attorney by email and follow my case he is not following, i do not know is it rules or not?
thank you.
1 – In terms of lawyers, it is a lawyer who represents you for free. 2 – If you have a lawyer, the lawyer is responsible to show up in court – if you have to call the lawyer to remind him, that is not a good sign. It usually does not take long at all to prepare for a Master Hearing, but it depends on the case (some judges want more than others at the Master Hearing – the lawyer should know that). Take care, Jason
Thank you.
Dear Jason,
Thanks for all you do.I applied for Asylum on the 29th of April 2019 in San Francisco.I am still to receive a letter for my interview.I usually check my case status online but for a few days my EAD Clock is stuck at 82 days and not moving.Have you heard of such cases before?Please what do you advice I do?Thanks for your help
Maybe they sent you an interview notice and you did not get it, which caused the clock to stop – That is one reason I can think of. You should contact them to ask. You can find their contact info if you follow the link at right called Asylum Office Locator. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
Hope you are doing great! Any update on Newark office asylum backlog please? Which month are they interviewing from the backlog. Any information is very appreciated.
Thank you!
Last Month , They told me they are working OCT 2017 from backlog
Thank you ASYLEE!
I do not know about months, but the last data I saw, they were making some progress on their backlog (I think I wrote about this on June 12, 2019). Take care, Jason
Thank you Jason!
Hi Jason
I am a principal applicant of asylum and my wife is a also a principal applicant of her own application. We got married here but I didn’t add her to my case yet. Now i got an interview notice and my attorney said we can go through your interview first and after the interview we will ask officer to add spouse to my case. Is this possible like that ? She already have signed a privacy waiver of information and we will bring that to the interview. Do think if she could get interview of her own case or just the eligibility questions after my interview? I am so stressed about this situation. Please explain with your expertise.
Thanks
If she is made a dependent in the case, she has to attend the interview with you. I do not know whether that will create issues (for example, they probably did not do her background check since she is not currently part of the case). I think you can probably try to add her, but if you do not add her, and if you win, you can file an I-730 and she can get asylum that way. In other words, I do not think it makes a great deal of difference if you add her or not (and if you lose and she is a dependent, I think she will be sent to court (assuming she is out of status) and may – I am not sure – miss her chance to have her own interview at the asylum office; so this may be another consideration or something worth looking into). Take care, Jason
Hi Jason, I’m an Asylee and applying for GC now. May I ask you a question please? I work as a waiter in restaurants and I frequently change restaurants in the past several years. I think I have worked more than 20 restaurants and many of them at which I only work several weeks. Since it is very inconvenient to write all my restaurant experience, I just disclose some major restaurants when I was filling my asylum application. My question is do you think I will get any problems if I do the same way now in my GC application? I’m concerned that even if I write all those 20 plus restaurants experience, USCIS would question why the employment information is not exact the same with before. So what can I do? Thank you!
These days, you have to be very careful – for one thing, your I-485 should be consistent with your I-589, or if it is different, you should explain why. As for jobs, you should do your best to list everything and give the best dates you can. It is annoying, but this is what they want, and if you do not give it to them, they may request it, or they may deny the case. If you at least make a good faith effort to list all the jobs, I think you will be fine. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason, you said I need to explain why the employment information of I-485 and I-589 is not consistent. The reason that I only list several major restaurants is because I didn’t want to make it annoying. Do you this this reason will be acceptable? I have one more concern that since I sign my name in I-589 to promise all the information is true and complete, will I get trouble if I provide the complete of restaurants names and dates in I-485? I’m just curious will the USCIS really check my tax returns report? What would you do if you were me? Please help!!!!
I said that the two forms should be consistent – so if you say, for example, you were employed at job X for certain dates on the I-589, you should list the same info on the I-485. If they are not consistent, you should explain why. I do think it is possible they will check tax records, as they are looking very closely at cases these days. Maybe one way to approach it is to fill the I-485 as you did the I-589, and just list the major jobs, and then – maybe in the cover letter or the supplement page – state that you worked in many restaurants, often for short periods of time, that you do not remember them all, and you listed the ones where you worked for any substantial period. At least this way, you are indicating to them that there are other jobs, and they cannot accuse you of “lying” about your job history. Take care, Jason
The information in I-589 is correct but not complete, so I don’t think there is any inconsistency problem between I-589 and I-485. I think I can get most of the restaurants information by reviewing my past tax return reports. My concern is as follows:
1. It sounds unreasonable if I write I don’t remember none of those restaurants information since there are more than 20 restaurants. Moreover, they may still request me of complete employment information or just deny my case since they don’t get the complete information.
2.Whether I just state there are more restaurants I don’t remember or list all those restaurants in the supplement paper in I-485, they may still accuse me of “lying” in I-589 since I didn’t include any supplement paper indicating that there are more temporary jobs ?
Now I totally don’t know what’s the right thing to do. Please help!
There is no correct answer – you can follow the pattern you started with the I-589 by listed only the more significant jobs. If you do that, you should make a note indicating that you had many jobs and you are listing the most significant ones. You could also list all jobs, and make a note that you only listed the major jobs on your asylum form. If you told the asylum officer that you only listed significant jobs, you can write that as well. Take care, Jason
Hey Jason, are you okay? I am a regular reader. And i haven’t seen you writing new articles about new asylum rules and other things that are happening. I hope you are doing okay and we will see your great new articles. Thank you
I may get to some of those, but many of the new rules are being blocked and so it is not that worthwhile to write about it. Anyway, I may try. Take care, Jason