Immigration lawyers in Florida are experiencing a large spike in calls for help after President Donald Trump signed sweeping executive actions on immigration this week.
Trump signed orders suspending refugee resettlement, ending asylum and targeting birthright citizenship (the latter was temporarily halted Thursday by a federal judge).
The administration also said it would allow federal immigration agencies to make arrests at schools, churches and hospitals, ending a policy that had been in effect since 2011. That has some immigrant families wondering if its safe to attend church or go to their children's school.
Since the start of Trump’s 2024 campaign, he promised to begin his next administration with sweeping measures to enforce immigration laws - utilizing new and old efforts to deport those without legal status and curb illegal immigration to the country.
Since Monday, attorneys say they have been trying to cut through rumors and misinformation surrounding the orders to help immigrant families clarify their legal status.
"Everyone has the right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment. Everyone has the right to refuse to answer questions about their immigration status, everyone should print and carry a copy of the Know Your Rights card," said A.J. Fernandez Anderson, the director of the pro bono program at Americans for Immigrant Justice in Miami.
Fernandez said that some of those rights include asking for a lawyer before signing any document and a Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures of people and their property.
"An immigration officer cannot detain you without reasonable suspicion. If you are detained, you have the right to ask why, and what's the basis for the reasonable suspicion," Fernandez said.
Attorney Barbara Perez, an immigrant who practices immigration law in Casselberry, is urging the concerned people calling her to make sure they consult with a licensed attorney who knows the law and can clarify their status. She said every person’s case is different and that people who are worried should meet with a lawyer to see where they stand.
“There’s a lot of nonprofit organizations currently that are beginning to host ‘Know Your Rights’ presentations, and I would highly suggest people to attend those because you can get information about what your rights are and what you can expect if you were to come into contact with an immigration official,’’ Perez said.
One nonprofit organization doing that is Orlando Center for Justice. Executive director and attorney Melissa Marantes said the center has seen a 20% increase in phone calls since Monday. She says she’s spending a lot of time countering rumors and trying to give factual information about fast-moving policy changes that have already been met with pending litigation. A lot of the calls concern mixed-status families, where a child has been born in the U.S. but the parents are from another country, Marantes said.
“More than anything I’m getting a lot of our current clients and community members that we’re close to just asking the question of what’s next and what does this mean to me,’’ Marantes said. “I think that’s the big question: What is this going to mean for me and my family? There’s just a lot of fear.’’
To help, the center will offer a virtual Know Your Rights’ information session this Friday, hosted on its website, orlandojustice.org.
Also, the Florida Immigrant Coalition in Miami said it plans to ramp up services. This includes holding drives for assistance with Temporary Protected Status and citizenship applications.
Information from WLRN's Sherrilyn Cabrera was used in this report.
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