Organizations that support immigrants in Central New York are flooded with requests for help as the Trump administration continues to detain and deport people it deems are here illegally.
The past two months have generated plenty of chaos and fear among those who might be targeted by the immigration crackdown. Jessica Maxwell is executive director of the Workers’ Center of Central New York. She said they try to quell rumors while informing people of their constitutional rights, including the right to protection from unreasonable searches and seizures.
“They don't have to open the door if ICE comes knocking, what their rights are at the workplace," Maxwell said. "Helping them understand the right to remain silent, helping them have a legal consult with an immigration attorney. We see so many people who have winnable cases or whose cases are in process, but it's hard to find a lawyer and it takes years for many people to win their cases.”
Maxwell says the biggest challenge is making arrangements for who takes care of children if one or both parents are snagged by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Maxwell said some of these families have been part of the community for many years.
“They are interconnected through marriages and through families, they're going to our schools," Maxwell said. "So much of our economy, our farm workers, the construction industry, so many different pieces of our community are intertwined with immigrants.”
Maxwell said the Trump administration’s dragnet is unnecessary and wasteful.
“The money being spent just creating chaos and tearing families apart for no real good reason when we could simply have an orderly, functional immigration system that allows people to pursue their legal status in reasonable and organized ways," Maxwell said. "It would cost a lot less money. It would cause a lot less pain.”
Maxwell adds entire upstate communities and economies will be devastated by this aggressive immigration enforcement.
