Immigrants in Michigan urged to know their rights amid increased enforcement
Max ReinhartThe Detroit News
Dearborn — As worries about immigration enforcement surge and the Trump administration continues its broad push for mass deportations, local advocates are reminding immigrants of all residency statuses to know their rights during interrogations, arrests or raids.
The Arab American Civil Rights League had originally planned a press conference for later in the week, but the organization moved it up to Monday after receiving a steady stream of calls over the weekend.
"I know it's causing a lot of anxiety in the community," said Nabih Ayad, ACRL's founder and chair. "The community's on edge."
More:Trump order halts key immigration court program in Michigan
ACRL Executive Director Mariam Charara said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 956 individuals across the country this past weekend. Arrests in "recent weeks" total nearly 2,700, she said.
ACRL board member Rula Aoun said she had heard reports of arrests in Dearborn Heights or Dearborn, where the ACRL is headquartered, in the hours leading up to Monday's press conference. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan last week said ICE raids had not happened so far in Detroit.
Trump has reinstated a 2019 policy known as "expedited removal," which, Ayad said, previously only applied to migrants who had arrived in the U.S. within the past 14 days and within a 100-mile radius of the border.
"With Trump's new administrative order, it basically makes no limit of such," he said. "Basically, anyone that's in this country, regardless of radius from the border, anywhere in the country, you can be arrested and deported," without the typical judicial process.
During Monday's presser, the group passed out tip sheets with guidance from the Michigan Immigrants Rights Center. It offered tips on everything from what to say to immigration agents if potentially stopped to whether someone is required to legally allow an agent into his or her home.
The surge in immigration enforcement since Trump took office on Jan. 20 is causing particular concern in Dearborn, where about 29% of its 109,000-plus residents are foreign-born, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. Ayad acknowledged the irony that the city's heavily Muslim-immigrant population voted in favor of Trump in November.
He explained that a majority of residents placed more importance on Trump's perceived favorable stance on Middle Eastern conflicts than his hardline promises of deportation.
"If I had to choose between more deportations or children being sniped, 2- or 5-year-olds dying, I'd choose the first and I think a lot of the community feels the same way," Ayad said, referring to the conflict in Gaza.
90,000 undocumented residents
ACRL officials asserted that the vast majority of immigrants now in the U.S. have some standing for legal residency, but emboldened federal agents are acting hastily, potentially endangering people for deportation if they're not fully aware of their rights.Ayad said he was not overly concerned with Trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to migrants in country illegally. A federal judge temporarily blocked the measure last week, calling it "blatantly unconstitutional."
"That's going to be a very uphill battle for this presidency," Ayad said.
Ayad also didn't expect Trump would step up resources for the nation's slow immigration courts so they can handle more cases faster, saying that Trump was merely "coming in and making a point," as his second term gets underway.
There are an estimated 90,000 undocumented residents throughout Michigan, based on an analysis of 2019 U.S. Census Bureau data by the Migration Policy Institute. At least 16.8 million illegal immigrants reside somewhere in the U.S. as of June 2023, based on an estimate by the Federation for American Immigration Reform group in Washington, D.C.
The ACRL said it is supporting not just the Arab population at risk of deportation, but is standing with American immigrants from all nations.
State Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, the daughter of Taiwanese American immigrants, called on her fellow lawmakers to commit to a "resetting of values" in regard to legal support for migrants.
She lamented the end of federal funding for legal aid organizations like Michigan Immigrants Rights Center, as well as legal protection against raids in places like churches, hospitals and schools.
"Our students, people just trying to go to their places of worship ... now will have to make decisions about whether or not they feel safe to do that," Chang said.
More:Trump order halts key immigration court program in Michigan
Know Your Rights
In broad terms, supporters urged immigrants to speak very little, if at all, to immigration agents; carry as much documentation as possible when in public; don't run from officers if stopped; and never lie during an interrogation.They pointed to tips provided by the Michigan Immigration Rights Center in its Preparing Your Family for Immigration Enforcement document
During an interrogation, it advises asking if you are being detained or arrested. If you're not, ask whether you are free to leave. If so, walk away, the rights center advises. If an officer says you are under arrest or being detained, show the officer your valid documents. If you do not have documents validating your residency in the U.S., do not speak, except to explain you need to consult with your attorney. Do not show them any false documents.
"We encourage everyone to stay calm, be polite and never lie because lying can have serious consequences," Charara said.
The Michigan Immigrants Rights Center also advises that if someone comes to your door, ask whether they are police or immigration agents. Immigration agents are not permitted to enter unless the occupant opens the door or gives them permission to enter while police generally need a search warrant to enter.
And if someone is stopped in public, ask to see an order or warrant, which the officers must have in order to conduct a public stop, according to rights center. During any run-in, the group advises anyone concerned about thenot say anything about your immigration status or where you were born.
The report can be read in full on the MIRC website. It also includes helpful "know your rights cards" that can be handed to officers in case of a run-in, plus other resources.
The ACRL also established a hotline at (800) 243-0302 to provide direct support 24/7.
Immigrants in Michigan urged to know their rights amid increased enforcement
The surge in immigration enforcement is causing particular concern in Dearborn, whose heavily Muslim-immigrant population voted for Trump in November.
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