SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Immigrants' rights groups are working to calm fears in the migrant community – after a judge blocked President Donald Trump's changes to the public charge rules earlier this month.
Those rules would have made it harder for people to get a green card or visa if they use programs such as Medi-Cal, Cal Fresh or housing vouchers. Staff Attorney Russell Jauregui with the nonprofit San Bernardino Community Service Center says some migrant parents are pulling their U.S. citizen children out of these programs for fear that it would hurt the parents' application for permanent residency later on.
"These benefits that are available for your U.S. citizen kids are not going to hurt you,” says Jauregui. “Even the proposed rule was clear that benefits for U.S. citizen kids would not penalize applicants."
Even if the Trump administration eventually prevails and gets a judge to greenlight the new rules, they wouldn't go into effect until all appeals are exhausted, and even then immigration officials could only consider benefits used after the rule takes effect. It would not be retroactive.
Supporters of the proposed changes say new immigrants should have to prove they can support themselves financially and will not rely on public benefits.
Jauregui says the proposed changes have not been blocked for people who are applying for a green card from abroad, or who were sent back to their home country to finish the application process.
"Some people have to leave the United States to finish their process,” says Jauregui. “Then a different set of rules apply. So those people should really talk to a lawyer before they pursue their application."
The proposed changes also do not apply to people who already are permanent residents applying for citizenship, or who are applying for asylum or refugee status.
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California is bracing for large-scale immigration raids - and groups that advocate for children are speaking out against the climate of fear.
Recently an 11-year-old girl in Texas committed suicide after allegedly being bullied about her family's immigration status.
Mayra Alvarez - the president of The Children's Partnership, which is based in LA - said the sense of dread that a parent might be deported is extremely stressful and can lead to physical illness.
"That day to day worrying," said Alvarez, "that leads to a host of health issues, everything from increased anxiety, and depression, to stomachaches, to behaviors that aren't reflective of who they are."
Almost half of California's 9 million children have at least one immigrant parent. One in ten, or about a million children, have an undocumented parent. And one in five lives in a mixed-status family.
California legislators passed Assembly Bill 699 to protect immigrant students, but schools cannot block Immigration and Customs Enforcement from coming on campus if they have a court order.
The Trump administration has changed the rules to clear the way for immigration raids in sensitive locations like churches, hospitals, and schools - something Alvarez condemned.
"Immigration enforcement actions shouldn't unnecessarily deter immigrants - again, many of those immigrants are parents of U.S. citizen children - from participating in those very essential activities," said Alvarez, "dropping their kids off at school, going to the doctor, going to church or other religious services."
Advocates are praising local efforts to inform people of their rights and help parents make a plan in case a family member is detained by agents with ICE.
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According to the Immigration Policy Tracking Project, the Trump administration has taken 130 actions on immigration so far this term. Groups in Montana are trying to both track those changes and watch state bills.
One early executive order placed a 90-day freeze on refugee arrivals to the country, halting families with flights already booked to the U.S. Another made changes to Temporary Protected Status and Humanitarian Parole, granted when a person's home country is deemed unsafe due to armed conflict, natural disaster or other emergencies.
Mary Poole, executive director of the nonprofit resettlement agency Soft Landing Missoula, said the orders could undo years of work.
"This rapid removal of humanitarian protections, that's one thing that's really scary for folks," Poole observed. "Many people came here through this new legal pathway that Biden created and it might just be deemed null and void."
Two Montana immigration bills passed the House and were brought to the Senate last week. One would require police to check and report someone's immigration status during a "lawful stop" and the other would allow the state to criminally prosecute a person in federal detention for immigration violations.
Soft Landing Missoula works with 600 refugees and immigrants from 30 different countries. Poole said
the organization has taken on new work with the change in federal administration, including immigrant rights' training.
"Immigrants have rights," Poole emphasized. "Making sure that folks are aware of what those are and how our organizations and facilities can uphold those rights, that's a really important piece of the work that we've been doing."
According to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, if immigration officials come to a person's home, they do not need to answer a knock without a warrant signed by a judge, containing the person's correct name and address. People approached also have the right to remain silent.
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A northwest Texas family is waiting to hear from agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a recent traffic stop.
Jose is in the country illegally and was taken into custody by ICE agents after he and his wife, Ashley, were stopped by Lubbock police. Ashley said the incident was traumatizing for her and their three children.
"My oldest son, he was crying, because they were being really rough with his dad," Ashley explained. "They're slamming him against the window where he's at, and he's asking, 'Why are they taking him?' And I'm trying to explain to my 4-year-old that his dad's here illegally. He doesn't understand that."
Jose, who's from Central America, was eventually released and told to report for a hearing, but Ashley pointed out they have received conflicting information about upcoming court proceedings.
Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, an attorney in Austin representing the family, said they will fight to keep Jose from being deported. She added the couple had hired an attorney to get Jose his Green Card.
"This story highlights the fact that ICE is not just apprehending and placing people with criminal histories into immigration detention," Lincoln-Goldfinch noted. "Now, because of this incident, Jose has been placed into deportation proceedings. And this is one more person in the already backlogged immigration court system."
Ashley added if Jose is deported, she and their children will go to Central America with him.
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