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As Trump administration curtails immigration, local groups share resources

In this July 8, 2019, file photo, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer watches during an operation in Escondido, Calif.
Gregory Bull
/
AP
In this July 8, 2019, file photo, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer watches during an operation in Escondido, Calif.

Almost as soon as President Donald Trump took the oath of office Monday, Jan. 20, the new administration acted to restrict immigration and asylum. Local organizations say resources are available for immigrants in the Wasatch Back.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to restrict immigration and undertake a massive deportation campaign upon his return to office. After his inauguration Monday, the Trump administration began working immediately to make good on those promises.

Trump used executive orders to declare a national emergency on the southern border and suspend refugee resettlement. He stripped churches, schools and healthcare facilities of their status as protected areas, making migrants without legal status vulnerable to ICE raids there.

Also within minutes of Trump taking office, an app that allows migrants to make appointments to seek asylum in the United States went down, and all appointments were cancelled.

Trump has also said he’ll eliminate the Temporary Protected Status program, which shields migrants from deportation and provides a work permit if they’re fleeing conflict or natural disasters in their home countries. More than 10,000 immigrants in Utah hold that protected status.

It’s not yet clear how or if immigration enforcement will change in the Wasatch Back under the new administration. But local organizations say they’re available to equip migrants with resources.

They say everyone living in the U.S. has constitutional protections, regardless of immigration status.

The Wasatch Latino Coalition, a community group for the Wasatch Back, recommends immigrants keep red cards near their doors with instructions for what to do in case ICE agents visit their homes.

Residents are not required to open the door, answer any questions or sign any documents if immigration agents ask them to do so. And agents cannot enter homes or search people’s belongings without a warrant signed by a judge.

Residents can hold the red card up to a window to assert their rights without opening the door.

The coalition also suggests all families, regardless of immigration status, make a preparedness plan including gathering emergency contacts, learning their legal rights and setting up childcare in case a parent or guardian is detained.

Additionally, the Park City Community Foundation recently hosted a “Know Your Rights” event with immigration attorneys. A recording of the event is available online.