These are times of uncertainty for many immigrants in the United States.
There are reports of individual visas and green cardholders and tourists who have been detained and deported. However, the Trump administration does not appear to be indiscriminately targeting legal immigrants who have permission to stay in the US on a large scale.
Some are reportedly targeted based on their political activities. The brown university professor and doctor with a green card were deported after finding photos of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrara and Iran's top leader on his mobile phone. Immigration authorities also called Trump's executive order banning anti-Semitism to detain former Colombian students and green cardholders who led campus protests against the war in Gaza.
Otherwise, the Trump administration has not made any rationale for binding anyone. German citizens with green cards were questioned by Boston border officials and detained without using anxiety drugs. It is not clear whether the government accused him of a crime. Similarly, the administration had not provided an official explanation for detaining Turkish doctoral students as of Tuesday.
And it wasn't just immigrants who were affected. A US citizen said he was walking down the streets of Chicago when he was arrested by immigration agents.
Although the numbers are limited, these cases have gone viral, causing fear in the immigrant community.
According to immigrants, it's difficult to tell them about immigrants who are worried about whether they need to live and work legally in the United States.
“After 40 years of practice, it's really hard to God what the measured response is doing now,” said Kathleen Campbell Walker, former president of the American Association of Immigration Barriers.
So far, cases of individuals whose visas and green cards have been detained or deported have appeared rare. That said, the attorneys I spoke to advised these immigrants and American citizens to consider specific precautions in such an environment of uncertainty.
Consider carrying an Identification Document
Legal non-citizen immigrants have been legally required to carry immigration documents at all times. But the penalty for not doing so is higher under Trump.
In April, the Trump administration is expected to increase the associated fines from $100 to $5,000, Campbell Walker said. Not owning the document is a misdemeanor. It could now land migrants in detention and deportation proceedings. Trump has revoked the Biden administration's immigration enforcement priorities, allowing even those charged with non-violent, mild crimes to be deported.
Relatedly, next month, the Trump administration will also begin to require that all non-citizens register with the federal government and designate those who did not do so as a priority for immigration enforcement. Many non-citizens who have previously contacted the federal government are already considered to be registered in the new policy because they applied for certain immigration benefits or because they have been issued a notice to appear before the immigration court.
Campbell Walker said that American citizens should consider carrying a passport card that fits in their wallets or birth certificates as evidence of nationality given reports of American reports swept over Trump's immigration enforcement efforts. In some of these cases, she said there are concerns that immigration agents are racially and ethnically profile targets.
“People carry documents with your people, make sure that citizens or non-naturalized or acquired citizens have one place in your home, make sure you have all the important documents together, make sure you have copies. All of these are reasonable and important steps to taking moments like this.
Rethinking international travel
Immigration attorneys are urging immigrants to pay attention to their current travel abroad.
Brown University recommended that even green cardholders delay individual travel outside the United States “from a wealth of caution” following the deportation of one of its professors. The university said changes to requirements for re-entry into the country and the draft travel ban proposal for 43 countries that can be implemented as early as this week could affect students and staff.
“I think a lot of green cardholders have decided to consult with their lawyers before they travel, and I think that's a reasonable consideration,” Altman said.
Immigrants should consider whether the country they came from or where they plan to travel may be on a list of countries that may be subject to travel bans. They also need to weigh their own history of behaviorism and whether it can target them on re-entry into the United States.
“I know this administration is engaged in retaliatory actions against those engaged in constitutionally protected activities and speech,” Altman said. “And people may want to think about their history, imagine and explore whether they may place a high interest in retaliation targeting and talk to their lawyers about the precautions they can take before their trip.”
Protect your privacy with social media and electronic devices
If you need to travel, consider leaving your personal electronics at home. Border authorities can (and have) request access to immigrant devices, including mobile phones.
Refusing to grant them access could provide evidence to deny an entry based on the basis that immigrants are insufficient to determine whether they are “acceptable” to the United States. However, Campbell Walker said he was worried about the lack of executives who lack the training needed to properly assess the contents of personal devices.
She said, based on reports from member lawyers of the American Immigration Bar Association, authorities are currently looking into social media feeds of people's phones for reasons to refuse entry to the United States.
“I'm not asking anyone to lie, I'm not trying to sabotage justice,” she said. “But if I'd like to prevent someone who's not well trained to tear their phones and jump into conclusions and delete me or enter the US, I don't think I would recommend having a lot of social media and photos on my phone. [personal] Laptop. “
