Across the country, immigrant communities are bracing for what’s to come of President Trump’s plan to launch mass deportations.
Individuals and groups across the country are hosting “Know-Your-Rights" trainings and informational sessions for undocumented families.
Since Trump’s inauguration, Veronica Garcia Martinez and other DeKalb-area volunteers have hosted walk-in sessions on how to fill out guardianship forms. They hosted a session over the weekend.
Garcia Martinez is a teacher, but says she is doing these sessions on her own time and not in association with her employer.
“It is a time and a place for people to come in and fill out short-term guardian forms where two volunteers will sign as witnesses,” Garcia Martinez said.
The document provides a means for parents to designate a temporary guardian for their child if they were to get deported.
Garcia Martinez estimates more than 300 forms have been distributed locally so far.
“It's not a solution, it's just a peace of mind," Garcia Martinez said. "When people fear deportation, they don't necessarily fear the process of, 'Oh my god, I'm going to be arrested, [or] I'm going to be detained.'" They fear, 'If I'm detained, what will happen to my child at home? Is my child going to know what to do or who's going to care for my kid?'”
One mother came to secure guardianship for her son.
She says her child’s former teacher has agreed to be his guardian. The teacher is someone she trusts.
There are 3 types of guardianship for a child (Source: Illinois Legal Aid Online)
- Permanent legal guardian
- Standby guardian
- Short-term guardian
She says since Trump came into power, the undocumented community has been on high alert.
“There’s been a lot of talk of sightings of ICE, over here and over there. So, the truth is that now I don’t go out,” the mother told WNIJ.
One of several executive orders pertaining to immigration that President Donald Trump signed is titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.” It gives immigration agents authority to deport all undocumented residents or what the government now deems as “illegal aliens.”
Now, deportations can be carried out at schools, churches and hospitals, areas that previously were off limits.
At the event this weekend in DeKalb, one set of parents arrived with their two boys close to their side.
The father told WNIJ that they've talked to their sons about the need to designate a guardian for them.
“The times are difficult and we have to fill out a lot of paperwork to ensure that someone will take care of them just in case something happens to us,” he said.
He says despite the fear, overall, they're managing.
“We don’t go to Chicago," the father told WNIJ. "We don’t go anywhere at a distance. So, we're taking care of ourselves the best that we can.”
Volunteers like Selma Saenz cut out laminated informational cards that describe constitutional rights for folks to grab.
"The red card is just something that they can slide under the door or hold it up against the window that pretty much tells law enforcement that they're not going to speak to them,” Saenz explained.
With the last family leaving the workshop, the volunteers packed up the leftover forms.
Garcia Martinez said they're looking at other ways to support their students.
“We don't want kids to stop going to school," she said. "So, can we come up with a program to get kids home so parents don't have to pick them up? Like, what can we do? Can we think outside of the box to support the community?”
Meanwhile, school districts are developing or updating their own policy for the event that an immigration agent arrives at one of their schools.
