I’m TC. I’m an immigrant and I’m afraid to use my name in this oped. I’m afraid I could be snatched off the street or from my home and taken to detention and then deported. I’m also an international human rights attorney working for an immigration law firm; we primarily work in removal proceedings, meaning we prevent people from being unjustifiably deported and separated from their families. April 11 of this year was the deadline for me and others like me–documented and undocumented immigrants including those who are temporarily legal– to register under the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; under this reanimated law, we are also commanded, yes commanded, to carry our proof of registration or proof of legal status at all times, because if you are stopped by ICE or an authorized law enforcement officer and you don’t have it with you, you will not only be subject to civil and criminal liability, but you will be taken to a detention center, where you could spend months before they release you, even if you were born in the U.S. And that is just the first step they will take to determine if you are an immigrant.
While these new policies affect all immigrants, it’s important to mention that our clients from Latin America and Muslim-majority countries are by far the most severely impacted by immigration policies. We don’t know what to tell our clients anymore. The phones never stop ringing–I’m not exaggerating. Every day is harder and harder to have the “right” answer for all our clients, but especially for our asylum-seeking clients, and for people like me, who, right now, are fearful of speaking out . I do what I can, both at work and at home: I’ve slipped “Know your rights” cards underneath my neighbors’ doors. One side is in Spanish telling them their constitutional rights—because yes, we also have constitutional rights—and the other side has words in English that tell ICE officers that we do not consent to anything, unless they have a warrant with our names, issued and signed by a judge. I’m doing what I can, and I know others too, but it does not stop being overwhelming.
It is not the first time that a vicious, biased government, headed by a person who believes he is all-powerful, will humiliate, illegally deport, appropriate and take away the rights, property, freedom and potentially the lives of people it deems “wrong”. It is not the first time, nor will it be the last one, where one person with a lot of power will commit atrocities based on their twisted perception of the rule of law. It’s hard, this year has been really hard, and we just have to keep it together, because if it’s not us, then who? Because as lawyers, as neighbors, as friends, as educated people, as documented migrants, as U.S. citizens, as people with feelings and conscience we just cannot not do something. I imagine you have been reminded in social media about the poem written by Pastor Martin Niemöller. He was a German Lutheran pastor who initially supported Hitler but later opposed the Nazi regime and spent seven years imprisoned in concentration camps, including Sachenhausen and Dachau. The most well-known version in English is,
“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.”
There are no words to describe what it feels to be separated from your family, and taken into one of the most dangerous prisons in the world, which is not even in U.S. soil; or having to tell your client that despite of having a good asylum claim to remain in the U.S., they have just been ordered removed; or that we, documented immigrants, like me, like Mohsen Mahdawi, that have zero criminal record, that are highly educated and justice-oriented, that have gone above and beyond to improve our lives while abiding to every single law of this country, are no longer safe, and that we can be deported at any time, just for being brown and have an accent when speaking English. There are no words to describe how I feel while I am trying to get this out to you, so we are not silenced. I don’t need to be undocumented to speak out about what is happening, and while I know that this might put me at risk, I still need this to be out and loud, because the immigrant community is not alone, and there are tons of us that want to speak for them, so we don’t repeat the same story of Niemöller in the 1930s.
I want to invite you to do something for us, for the immigrants that also help this country to be a better place to live. SPEAK OUT, please, and keep speaking out if you already are. Right now, there are still a lot of organizations that you can volunteer for; if you are an attorney, take some pro-bono immigration cases it won’t hurt your wallet as much as this reality could harm you; donate to nonprofit organizations especially now that have no budget; join community led events and direct actions that promote justice. Empower immigrants with your support and appreciation. Here are some websites that you can explore and decide how to take action: United We Dream, NILC, RAICES, Muslim Advocates, Mijente, Freedom for Immigrants, Border with Kindness, Detention Watch Network, Define American, Justice for Muslims. Remember, this is not only for us immigrants, it’s for the love you have for this country.
