Ever since his inauguration in 2017, president Donald Trump has routinely targeted innocent, hardworking undocumented immigrants in communities around the United States with ICE raids, arresting members of our communities and putting their families in danger. While Sonoma County’s sheriff does not cooperate with ICE, they can still sweep in unannounced at any time and start knocking on doors.
What can we do as a community, and what is already being done to protect our people from ICE raids?
In 2017, the North Bay Organizing Project launched the North Bay Rapid Response 24 hour hotline at (707) 800-4544, a hotline dedicated to providing legal assistance to immigrants in the North Bay and protecting our communities from ICE tyranny (Click here for their website). If you or someone you know believe(s) that ICE is in the area or have information about a potential raid, follow this procedure.
- Call the hotline at (707) 800-4544. When notified of a potential or current ICE raid, North Bay OP will send members of their 700-strong legal team to investigate the threat. If the threat is deemed credible, they will notify those who may be affected, send legal observers to hold ICE accountable and connect those arrested to immigration lawyers dedicated to stopping ICE, and make ICE’s presence known to everyone in the county. It is critical to call the aforementioned hotline, as it is the most effective way to make your voice heard
- If and ONLY IF the threat is confirmed as credible, make as much noise as possible. Post about the impending raid on social media, message friends who may be in danger, and encourage others to do so. If you see something, say something. ICE has repeatedly violated the rights of detainees simply because they could. When people are watching, filming, and gathering evidence, they must be held accountable.
- If targeted by ICE, KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!
- Assist with evacuation. ICE has been known to strategically target neighborhoods with large immigrant populations, often knocking on doors with a list of names and addresses. If you know someone in danger of being arrested, help get them and their family out of their home and to a safe location to hide from ICE during the raid. Raids are done en masse, and if a person is not home consistently they often will not be hunted down.
Together we can protect our community from Donald Trump’s racist, destructive agenda to make America white again.