Increased efforts by federal immigration agents to deport undocumented immigrants have nonprofit officials worried that those clients may stop seeking services for fear of being swept up in a deportation raid. President Trump’s decision to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, a program that allowed nearly 800,000 young, undocumented individuals to work legally, has added urgency to their concerns.
So what should nonprofit employees and their clients do if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement comes knocking? Some groups are working to educate themselves and others to answer that question.
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest created a guide that outlines the actions federal immigration agents can legally take at community centers, charity clinics, and other service venues. It explains the distinction between public spaces, which agents can freely enter, and private spaces, which require specific warrants for entry. It also recommends staff practices, such as questioning whether uniformed agents are part of the police force or ICE, and telling clients they can refuse to answer questions and seek legal counsel.
So far, no nonprofits have reported raids at their facilities to New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, says Marnie Berk, director of pro bono programs. But many leaders have expressed interest in using the guide, in part to assuage clients’ fears.
‘Be Prepared Now’
“The perception of heightened vulnerability for undocumented people accessing the services we provide” has frightened clients of the Bowery Residents’ Committee, which serves homeless men, says David Tatum, chief operating officer. The organization will be reviewing the guide to give clients and staff “clarity, tools, and comfort for how to manage what might occur in terms of enforcement of those who are undocumented.”
Nonprofit clients may lack legal documentation for myriad reasons, Mr. Tatum says: They immigrated to the United States outside of official channels; they were born in rural areas where official records weren’t taken; or they have mental-health challenges that make them unable to provide accurate histories of their own lives.
People who fall into any of these categories may steer clear of spaces that they fear ICE agents will target.
Among the nonprofits that have experienced dips in client attendance since the presidential election in November is the Brooklyn Public Library. Students who had regularly attended programs such as English language classes stopped showing up.
“We also had an incident where one person in a different class in the library threatened to call immigration on another student,” says Chloe Wasserman, general counsel for the library system.
Because immigrants trust libraries to provide accurate information and other services, the system’s leaders are working to educate staff members about what protections the organization can and cannot provide people who lack documentation.
The library has held one training session about providing immigrant services in the current environment and has another scheduled this month. Branches have information about advocacy and legal-aid groups available for clients to access anonymously. One of the fliers they’ve created shares a simple message: Be prepared now. That means having a plan for where to send kids if parents are caught in a raid, plus having documents and legal-aid phone numbers close at hand.
At Bowery Residents’ Committee, leaders are using systems they’ve developed plus advice from Catholic Charities to help clients “to the highest degree possible get whatever documentation they have,” Mr. Tatum says. It can be as simple as, “If you have a copy, let’s make two copies, so we have a copy on file.”
They’re also working to teach clients their rights and inform them of organizations that provide direct help to people without documentation.
The overall approach? “We make it as straightforward as we possibly can.”
Top Takeaways From the Guide
- Areas open to the public, like a nonprofit lobby or library reading room, are open to ICE agents, and they may enter without a warrant and take photographs.
- ICE agents must have a judicial search or arrest warrant to lawfully enter private areas. That’s different from an administrative warrant. If an agent seeks entry with an administrative warrant but not a judicial warrant, staff members should deny them entry.
- ICE agents sometimes wear uniforms that say “police.” Staff members may ask whether people seeking entry are police officers or ICE agents.
- If an ICE agent asks clients questions, employees should tell clients they have the right to refuse to answer and to ask for a lawyer.
- If an ICE agent asks questions that an employee does not want to answer, he or she should decline to answer and call the organization’s lawyer, not make a false statement.
- Staff may ask for the names, credentials, and badge numbers of ICE agents. Staff may take video recordings of ICE agents.
The guide provides templates nonprofits can use to develop policies and procedures to follow in the event of an enforcement action. It also shows examples of warrants that ICE agents must produce to access private spaces at nonprofit offices.
If you are concerned about whether your nonprofit’s activities qualify as illegal sheltering, consult this guide from the Legal Aid Society.
