An auditorium at the Houston Community College Northline campus was packed this week with dozens of local leaders, organizers, and members of the community for a Know Your Rights town hall.
Since President Donald Trump took office on January 20, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has made hundreds of arrests around the country, the government agency reports. Under the guise of planned arrests of known criminal immigrants who pose a threat to public safety or national security, ICE claims to have been using targeted enforcement operations to apprehend individuals who are in the country illegally. The Trump administration reaffirmed in a recent White House press briefing that it views all undocumented immigrants as criminals.
The town hall was hosted on Wednesday by U.S. Representative Sylvia Garcia, a Democrat who represents a sizable portion of east Houston. She claimed that the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement had gone beyond focused initiatives.
Garcia added that he is focusing on a large number of unauthorized immigrants who have been in the country for years and have no criminal history.
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General information that those without legal status might require was covered by speakers at the town hall. Topics covered included hospital and school immigration regulations as well as what to do if a family member is jailed.
Texas hospitals have been obligated since November to inquire about and document their patients’ citizenship status.
The Harris Health System’s senior vice president of community engagement, corporate communications, and board services, Olga Llamas Rodriguez, stated on Wednesday that patients are free to refuse to respond and that hospital employees will not need documentation to verify their responses. Ben Taub and Lyndon B. Johnson hospitals are part of the Harris Health System.
According to her, Harris Health will only provide the state with the entirety of the data and will not give out names, residential addresses, citizenship, or immigration status to third parties.
RELATED: Elected Harris County officials oppose Trump’s bid to revoke birthright citizenship
Additionally, Texas hospitals will have to document the expense of medical care for non-citizens beginning in March.
Silvia Mintz, an attorney in the Houston region, advised residents whose family members are arrested or detained to not sign any documents without first speaking with a lawyer and to exercise their right to remain silent if they are approached by immigration authorities.
Many people believe they have no rights because they lack documentation. And she stated that was untrue. Every resident of the United States is entitled to certain constitutional rights. Additionally, we must be sure to exercise our rights.
Without a legitimate search warrant, an immigration enforcer is not permitted to enter a person’s house, Mintz continued. It is also recommended that those without legal status save records such as utility bills and library cards that attest to their length of stay in the United States.
According to Mintz, if a family member is detained, they will receive one phone call after being booked. The individual should provide their family their alien number, which will be shown on a bracelet they receive. According to Mintz, a lawyer may occasionally ask for the accused individual to be released on bond.
Since you will require it, it will be simpler for your family member to locate you and deposit funds into the commissary once they have that alien number, she said.