‘Know your rights.' Near high school, Fort Worth congressman answers concerns about ICE raids
A 'Know Your Rights' table was set up Thursday across from North Side High School by Congressman Marc Veasey to inform families about their legal options if detained by ICE, and address community anxiety after a substitute teacher made a social media post inviting immigration officers to the Fort Worth high school to arrest students.
Veasey along with constituent service representative Maria Robles answered various questions that concerned community members, educators and parents had on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 30.
'I am an educator at elementary school. What should I do?'
'I have a legal permanent residence. Will I face consequences?'
'Can ICE raid community gatherings at parks?'
These were some of the questions posed as members of the north side community gathered around the table.
'I know that after that substitute teacher made those idiotic comments that a lot of people in this community, that have kids at this school, had a lot of fear and uncertainty about exactly what was happening,' said Veasey, a Democrat who represents Texas' 33rd Congressional District.
He said he wants people to know their rights when they are detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Veasey said if someone gets detained they have a right to legal counsel, and there are certain procedures that have to take place before they are deported.
ICE has been posting statistics on the number of arrests nationwide each day. The most recent numbers showed 1,016 arrests were made and 814 detainers were lodged on Jan. 29.
'They're not about to deport all the people that they're saying because it would drive a massive hole in the economy,' Veasey said. 'We wouldn't be able to produce any oil and gas, there would be no homes built in the state, no food that would be processed. Our farms would go dry,'
'I'm urging people to know your rights, but then asking the president, instead of playing these stupid, ignorant games, bring Democrats and Republicans together, and let's come up with a real solution to this, and not this made up for TV crap,' Veasey said.
On display at the event were templates of what a search warrant signed by a judge looks like compared to a search warrant signed by ICE officials. And privacy release forms for ICE that community members with the help of government offices can use to inquire about people arrested or detained.
'We need a secure border, but until you do something about the economical piece of this, then you're not going to have a secure border, it's just not going to happen,' Veasey said.
'I want parents that are worried to be able to have this information and sit down and talk with their kids, just in case their kids come home and they're not there, so their kids can at least have some peace of mind just by being able to talk about these things now — just in case this thing gets really, really bad,' he said.
Robles, the congressman's constituent service representative, said community members can also use the Executive Office for Immigration Review website to download and print privacy release forms. To 'ease that anxiety of not knowing where their loved ones are, they could print it out and get a copy, fill it out, and then at a later time, use it as needed,' she said.
Robles said there has been a lot of misinformation on social media so they want to make sure they provide clear and accurate information.
'We're still a nation that has a constitution, that has a judicial system. Not everything is lost, and we can't just give up,' Robles said. 'So as a person that knows some of these things, it's really heartwarming to be able to share and then see in their faces that fear may come down a bit.'
A 34-year-old woman from the Fort Worth Riverside area who opted to remain anonymous was there to get some answers about specific questions that are in the minds of community members, she told the Star-Telegram.
'At this moment, we have national, statewide and local policies that are impacting our migrant, immigrant communities, Black and brown people, and it's very complex, so it can be very confusing and intimidating for regular people to try to find out what the solution is or find help,' she said.
'It only continues to strike distrust and fear between regular people and those in elected power and elected leadership,' she said. 'We should have been doing this before Trump was even elected, or inaugurated.'
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